The Swede Life

2011-11-29T22:10:00.007+01:00

Still Swede.

Being busy with three kids and a lot of travel adventures, as well as some grumpy feelings about plagarism of the blog name, photo ideas, and some content have kept me off the blog circuit.

But....I am returning from a long USA trip, and my dear friend has made me swear if I am going back, I will at least show her how it is going.

So expect me back once again!

But help me out...is this a mom blog, a Sweden blog, an expat blog, a midwife blog, a food blog, or a waldorf blog? I have periodically been of the mind to tighten it up and limit my ramblings to a more concise topic. Seeing other people take my blog name and my ideas and bring them to outlets like The Local and Sweden.se makes me wonder if I should do the same. So far this blog is just me and my not very well orchestrated thoughts off handly whipped out in a quick unartful post on stolen time between nap time and dinner time.

What do you think I ought to do?

2011-06-09T16:52:00.008+02:00

Sweden in May

This is Sweden in May. It is the prettiest time in Skåne. I had to show you right now. I am doing the mega blog catch up and looking at my blog covered in winter pictures is deceptive and depressing. I must tell you how pretty it is here right now! So no matter that I am writing the easter post in drafts, let me fast forward to let you know it is green and alive here.

The Swedish flag, in Canola and Sky

The House in March from the Road

The same view two months later, in May, all lush and full of life.

Liliacs

The Liliac hedge

The view in our yard from the swings to the hammock

The view towards the trampoline in May

The Canopy on the walk near our house

Our Rhubarb and Apple Tree

Apple Blossoms in my Yard

At the university in Lund

So many Tulips

Tulips

Hawthorn flower

So many dandelion wishes!

But the thing about Swedish spring flowers, is they are over as soon as they start. A brief and brilliant beauty. Leaving you wishing for more.

2011-06-09T13:43:00.012+02:00

The Waldorf School

A big part of this spring has been the Waldorf school. SwedeGirl is on her third year at this play school, and it was SwedeBaby's first year. I hoped to have her settled in by the time the baby came, and it worked great. At the end of pregnancy it was icy, dark, and gloomy out and I wanted to curl up and hibernate. The kids went off almost daily to school to play, sing, be fed, and go outside with someone who could bend over more easily than I to get their boots on. After the baby came, their attendence helped keep them busy and entertained while I laid in bed nursing and recovering. This worked very well. The children got to play, I got to gestate.

The 6 year old can climb up the big tree

The two year old does well on this nifty branch climbing structure.

They mostly just do free play, but they do do a few projects at the school for the 4-7 year olds. They planted plants, made soap, colored, and made wet felted balls this spring.

Spring Grass for Easter

Each Wednesday they pack a lunch and go on a walk, and have a picnic lunch out in one of the nearby wild areas.

The little kids eat at the picnic tables on the playground when it is not wet out.

The day goes like this:

8:00am- School Opens, Oatmeal Breakfast served until 8:45am

8:30- Free Play Indoors, teacher may be working on a craft or project the children can help with.

10:00- Circle Time. Little ones do finger plays and songs, the older ones do games and songs.

10:30- Tea Time. Children get warm herbal tea in teacups, rice cakes, skorpa (hard toasted bread- crackers), knackebröd (like swedish bread like wasa crackers), with butter or sesame paste.

10:45- Outdoor Playtime.

11:30- Lunch Time. Organic Vegetarian lunch prepared by school cook and served at the classroom dining table. On Wednesday the go out for picnic wit ha lunch packed from home.

12:00- For Little children, nap time. They nap in pram style strollers lined with sheep skins. For older children, it is quiet time- they lie on sheep skins and are told a story. After the picnic outing in the winter, the children get warm foot baths and foot massages with lavender oil.

1:30 - Snack Time. Fil (fermented milk like kefor), Proviva (fruit soup with cultures), something baked by the school cook, or fruit.

2:00 - Free Play outdoors, teachers may be doing work in the garden or yard the children can help with

4:00 - School closes for the day.

SwedeGirl carried this chicken around the whole day

The old hen house is a play house now

The kids love the chickens, and pick eggs and feed them

The new hen house was designed and built by the 8th graders as a class project.

The play ground, SwedeBabys class room is in the building in the background.

My Kids love lots of just Sand box time

The school leaves out boards, wooden pallets, old cable spools, buckets, wheel barrows, shovels, garden tools and cutlery the kids use for all kinds of things.

They make pretend soup and soap

Sunny Sandbox time!

This is their best friend, my girls share a playground so they usually play together, and this little girl is almost always at their side.

Wooden boards make a balance beam.

The rope swing

SwedeBaby's classroom

A little kitchen

A farm

Playthings

The adjoining classroom

The shared eating area

Dress up time!

There is a very deliberate and spiritually grounded method to everything in a Waldorf school. To learn more about Waldorf -Steiner Education, you can read a short summary about it here or read these original sources- lectures from Rudolph Steiner, the philosopher who founded Waldorf Education.

Introduction to Waldorf School Education

The Education of the Child in the Light of Anthrosophy

The Kingdom of Childhood

Education

Spiritual Grounds of Education

2011-06-09T11:24:00.014+02:00

Getting Outside in the Early Spring

April 17th, waffles on the porch!

Initiating the porch in the spring time is a huge deal! It is wonderful when it becomes warm enough to eat outside. When we can open up our house, our world expands three fold. We have a fenced yard and we can leave the doors open and let the kids run in and out. The front and back yards are like new rooms to expand out into. And with the ice gone we return to 'street play'- things like chalk, stroller walks, and bike riding. And the neighbors who we have not seen all winter are out in the sun, playing and tending their yards, and the kids have friends to go see.

The first street chalk of the year!

A neighborhood walk, the nearby field we get snowballs from in the winter and wildflowers later in spring.

A stroller walk, parked next to the big pines for a nap

The baby swing, after the ice and snow but before the leaves return.

Digging in the potato beds and collecting yard waster in wheel barrows are fun spring activities

A little bird house in your soul

The hammock before the leaves

Now they are old enough to go out and play as sister playmates!

The 'fort' in the pines, a bed tent...

SwedeGirl made a sign declaring the fort her club house and invited the neighborhood kids over to play. We have two little girl neighbors the same age as SwedeGirl,one has a little brother, and we have a same age boy cousin living three doors up the street. It is wonderful to have playmates right next door!

Swingset fun in the backyard with the neighbor kids!

And solo ninja climbing.

Biking at the neighbor's house

SwedeBaby is in on the biking now she is 2!

With her sisters help it is even more fun.

Spring meant a return to bouncing

Static-y!

And SwedeBaby is a bouncer now too, by now she is very good and knows how to hold her own with the big kids on the trampoline as well.

A return to outdoor life was so welcome!!

2011-06-09T02:07:00.005+02:00

Return of the Sun: Swedish Spring in Flowers

Swedish Spring is a succession of small reliefs that come with the budding of each new kind of flower.

Once the sun returns the days get longer noticeably fast.

The sunshine on the house as spring dawns

The Snodrops came out the day SwedeBoy was born, just as they came out the day SwedeGirl was born! The first flowers and the new spring babies, right in sync. They are called snow drops because of the white color, and because they might come out when there is still snow.

Our last snow came after SwedeBoys Birth, March 18th.

Winter trickers, they also come and bring the yellow color in the early spring when there still may be snow.

My first baby wearing outing into the sunny yard with SwedeBoy

The Rhubarb was starting to grow that day.

And the buds emerged on the trees powered by the rainbow light.

Then, came the crocuses.

Purple crocus, some of the earliest flowers.

The Bees came out to celebrate.

Super Daddy, carrying both kids.

The day the first daffodil bloomed in our yard, a wave of relief spread, like I been stranded on a desert island and spotted a rescue boat. Spring was finally really coming!! That yellow burst of color was promise the dark and gray days were soon over.

Yellow is happy!!!

Springtime of your Life.

In town it is warmer and the flowers come sooner, that same day the daffodils were bursting all over Lund.

There are fields of these early purple flowers in Lund.

SwedeBoy!

Twelve days after the last photo above of the Rhubarb buds was taken, it has grown this much.

Once the sun starts shining, everything bursts open in the warmth and light. You feel the power of the life force when what looked dead the day before unfurls an entire perfectly formed leaf. Coming from the tropics, I never really understood the inner work that goes on in winter, and the sudden outward power of spring. Truly, in the darkness of winter things rest and take shape then, like a new baby spring forth fully formed.

I was just waiting, waiting for our baby and for the dead gray to be replaced by green. I felt relief on a deep body level when spring arrived this year!

2011-06-09T00:19:00.000+02:00

Meet the Family

One of the onderful things about our life in Sweden is living three houses away from my husbands sister and her family. They came on SwedeBoys third day of life to meet him.

SwedeBoys first gift, a Spot doggie, an initiation to snips, snails, and puppy dog tails for him.

2011-06-08T23:43:00.004+02:00

SwedeBoy, it is.

The Zero Years Old Birthday Party.

The girls put on a birthday party for the new baby.

We made our favorite stand by birthday cake, Hersheys Perfectly Chocolate Cake, it never fails. It works fine with the gluten free wheat starch flour sold in Sweden.

Hats courtesy of grandma. The children insisted we wear them every time we ate from this cake.

Nanny was there!

Yum, chocolate covered 2 year old.

Welcome to the family, SwedeBoy!

2011-06-08T23:01:00.006+02:00

Grandmas.

Looking over the story of spring in pictures, I have to say my mom came to visit. It was wonderful to introduce the baby to my mom, and have her help as we got settled with the baby.

My husbands mother, FarMor, with the baby too!

2011-06-08T22:45:00.003+02:00

Blogger catch Up.

So summer is here and my friends back in Florida are torturing me on facebook with pictures of them and the friends with young children I love so very much on the beach, swimming in blue warm waters if the gulf of mexico on the beach that was just voted # 1 in the USA. It has been almost three years since we moved to Sweden, and we said we would evaluate again in three years. With a new baby, and family obligations still lingering in Sweden, it makes little sense to pack up and move back home right now, even though those beach pictures make me want to do just that. So I will return to blogging, and celebrate the life I have built here, and once again use the blog to showcase to others, and mostly myself, what makes life here so special. I must start where I left off, though, I will take you through spring in Sweden, and sift through the bazillion photos we have taken this spring and show you more about our SwedeLife!

2011-04-10T02:31:00.002+02:00

Holy crap that was a long winter.

We finally had a good sunshine-y day, and some flowers, and I could not be happier about it!! I am not pregnant, the sun has peeked through, and there are buds on the trees! Life is returning to Sweden, and the SwedeLife blog!

2011-04-10T01:54:00.009+02:00

And now we are three.

Kids, that is. A family of five.

I have been busy making a person, not doing much blogging.

42 weeks on the dot, on March 13th I began labor about noon and gave birth about 10pm.

We had another lovely birth at home. The kids were even here this time.

I am now a proud member of the 'mom of boys' club, and the 'I had my ten pound baby at home' club!

I am also a member of the 'I had a c-section' club from the first baby, and then joined the VBAC/ 'I had a normal birth after a c-section' club for the second child.

Home Swede Home Birth

The birth team- we hired a home birth midwife from Copenhagen, and the same doula from last birth.

Baby Hands

Yawn...

Finally settling in, 4 weeks later! Welcome SwedeBoy!!!

2011-03-10T01:45:00.000+01:00

Two.

Undies and a bike!

Happy birthday, Swedebaby....now a swede little girl.

2011-02-15T01:15:00.011+01:00

Happy Birthday SwedeGirl!

And Happy Valentine's Day, SwedeToddler

Fixing Cake

Our Girl says "Thank you all for the great gifts" :)

Post made by SwedeDaddy, in secrecy...

2011-02-07T00:35:00.011+01:00

Winter Pregnancies mean Hibernation

Let me reference here the post I wrote when pregnant last time, it sums up where I am in pregnancy once again.

I am only posting now because I did not in all of January, and before another month goes by I thought I would write SOMETHING.

We actually started January out pretty good, having people over, doing play dates. We had some exciting couch surfer guests I could write about. I have been working on getting a midwife license in Denmark, and figuring out some working options for the future. I am also working on rattling the medical hierarchy in our region to get them to change some rules and pay for our home birth midwife.

But then came mid-January... it was about the same week in pregnancy I when wrote that post last time. I started powering down.

No energy, heartburn that makes every position uncomfortable and disturbs the sleep I manage around the big belly.

Then we got sick.

The kids got it first, the parents next, so last week we sent the kids to dagis , and my husband stayed home. We both slept all day in a quiet house. Thank you Sweden for daycare we love, and paid sick days.

Now, hibernation has set in.

My big goal this weekend was eat three normal meals of healthy food, and get up at a reasonable time. And hopefully get the floors cleaned. And get out of the house once for a walk. Except for sleeping most of Saturday, I met my goals!

Soon we are going to be in birthday madness. We will be celebrating my big girl turning 6 and my second one turning 2. And of course patiently waiting and having the house ready for baby number three to come any time now over the next five weeks.

But right now, I am a mama bear cozy in her den, sleeping and resting before the new cub and the the sunshine show up and disturb the peace.

The birth preparation is easy this time. We had a home birth in this house just two years ago, so we really only needed to get the supplies out again. I need to wash up the baby clothes. But the angst that came with my last birth is absent. I was planning a VBAC or a normal birth after a c-section, and it came with all kinds of heavy emotional questions that are non-issues this time. Last time I had almost religious fervor in preparing, as I had something to overcome in that birth. That intensity is replaced by a quiet confidence that comes with 6 years of parenting, two babies that have grown into kids that seem to be turning out fine, one nice home birth, and a feeling we are open to what comes, and ready for the surprises and growth a new life brings.

So back to bed I go.

I know from last time, summer will bring plenty of outward energy and exploring. Having been here before makes this urge to retreat almost seem normal....

2010-12-31T00:20:00.003+01:00

Our 2010

January- Fall USA road trip brought us to Florida for the holidays, we start the New Year in a beach house with our first Home Exchange !

February- Still in Florida with family. Disney with grandparents, then back home to snowy Sweden after aValentine's Day 5th Birthday party.

March- At Home in Snowy Sweden , Baby turns 1!

April- Vitsippia, Easter, Walpurg Night....The World Wakes from Winter Slumber

May- Brings Flowers and news baby #3 is on its way!

June- Dalarna for Midsommar with FarFar and Family

July- Swedish Summer at it's BEST! Beaches and Berries.

August- Epic European RoadTrip and multiple home exchanges, our Birthdays at Thermal Pools in Italy!

September- Harvest Time in our Garden and in Skåne, back to School and Work

October- Off to Florida for Mom and the Kids for Halloween with family and friends in USA!

November- Thanksgiving with family and Cousins in Florida!

December- Settle Back to Sweden for the month of Pepparkakor and Glögg, Christmas Merriment,

and Lots of Snow!

Thank you to AllTheForcesThatBe

for a very, very good year.

Yes, we can take it!

And we will BeHereNow.

2010-12-28T14:52:00.014+01:00

The Pleasures of Snowy Winter Days

Neighborhood Walk

Coming from Florida, where I never even owned a winter coat, snowy white days are pretty exotic to me. I have one memory of sledding, and do not think I ever ice skated before moving to Sweden. So with all this snow, we have been heading out to enjoy the opportunities for outdoor play winter presents. When first coming back from Florida in early December, getting ready to go out into the snow was so overwhelming...the boots, socks, hats, for each of us everytime. All that bending when pregnant, and in bulky clothes, was so uncomfy! Now we have our routine, and our favorite gear handy, so it is simpler. I have some great snow pants and ski boots, which makes adventuring out much more fun, even if bending over to get the boots on is even tougher with my now 32 week pregnant belly, and the snow pants stopped buttoning up some time last week. Still, it is worth it to go explore, and get some sun when it shows itself.

Blue Sky and Snow!

The road behind the house

Staying warm

A meadow behind the house

For an adventure, and to give me a chance to wrap some presents in secret, dad took the kids to Folkets Park in Malmö before Christmas. There is little area that in the summer is a splash pool, and in the winter a ice skating rink.

It is free to play on, and you can rent skates if you do not have them.

My Big Girl skoots along pretty well, admiring the more practiced and graceful skaters.

The toddler just watches....

Nearby, warm all natural blueberry and raspberry soup is sold!

Yum treat for cold little people

Folkets Park has rides open in the summer, it looks nice dressed in winter white

Closer to home there are plenty of places to take a sled out.

We headed out yesterday for some sledding

There is a nice well used sled hill in the neighborhood

Even the toddler loves to woosh down the hill

And of course the big girl does!

Dads camera was not uploaded, but even pregnant me had a couple of fun runs down the hill.

I hope this snow play will be enough to keep us busy for the next few months, as it appears it the snow will be sticking around. If it is going to be cold, it might as well be snowy, it is way more fun to play in snow than being outdoors when it is just grey and leafless and cold.

2010-12-26T20:45:00.016+01:00

White, Wonderful Christmas

Lots of snow and some records lows made for a beautiful white Christmas. Glad we were home for this one! We cooked lots of food, and had a slow steady calm holiday with food, family, and nice gifts mostly acquired on the USA trip, so there was no shopping frenzy to take us out into the world or on the roads. It was good to just stay close to home.

The red house looks so cute when the sky is blue and the sun shines and the white snow is piled high.

Nothing prettier in winter than tons of snow reflecting sunshine, the bright light makes up for the early sunset.

The latest pile up on the hammock

Burying the summer furniture and trampoline, they never got put away since the heavy snow came earlier than expected this year.

The 23rd we had to shovel a nice even path so Farmor could walk to the door through the 2 feet of snow. We enlisted help from our teenage nephew who lives down the street. The kids wanted in on the action!

Everyone pitched in!

And played, too.

The Toddler Winter Dilemma- If I wear my mittens, I have no dexterity and limited use of my hands, if I do not, I freeze.

Hmmmm......I will just ask to have them put on, then take them right off again every 5 minutes....

Christmas Eve is the main celebration day for the Swedes, so we headed to my sister in law's house a few door down on our same street and did the holiday Swedish way!

We arrived at 3pm so we could observe the sacred Swedish Tradition of watching Kalle Anka, or Donald Duck, a series of Disney cartoon shorts shown every year. We had glögg, pepparkakor, clementines, and cracked walnuts while gathered together for the cartoons!

Most of the Crew

SwedeGirl cozied up to her cousins, snuggled on the lap of teenage boy cousin, casually holding hands with her age mate boy cousin.

(Mission move to Sweden and get to know my husbands family- accomplished! )

We followed up by eating Swedish Christmas Dinner, called JulBord- pickled herring of several varieties, smoked salmon, eggs and caviar, smoked mackerel salad, ham, liver pate, pickled cabbage, Jansen's Temptation- Swedish Potato Gratin, and boiled potatos.

Swedish JulBord

Mother and Son

It has not been the best year for getting cute shots of the kids, who are always on the go, but they are cute none the less!

SwedeBaby in her fancy dress

Swedegirl Christmas Eve at her Aunts House

Dad and Kids

The Best Shot of Mom and Dad the 5 year old could manage

The Tree, decorated in red and straw on Christmas Morning

We have a tradition of keeping the cut made into the trunk when we buy the tree, and writing memories for that year's Christmas on it when we pack up the ornaments, and using it as an ornament in the future. Fun to see notes from Christmas past!

Christmas Morning Excitement! The stocking were full of surprises!

Excited Kids and Gifts under the tree Christmas morning

In the evening, we hosted the Swedes for an American Christmas Feast. Turkey, Cornbread Stuffing, Gravy and all the Fixings.

Licking a beater from the whipped cream for the pumpkin pie, a yummy holiday must.

Merry Christmas!

May your days be merry and bright.

2010-12-18T16:57:00.005+01:00

Christmas Gift to You from SwedesPlease and Me

I have mentioned before I like the music blog SwedesPlease written by an American about Swedish music. They have a fun playlist you can download for free of Christmas music by indie Swedish bands like Hello, Saferide and The Hives.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-17T19:41:00.006+01:00

Snow Day

In the morning

Bare Tree in the Fog

For the love of trees dressed in snow

The church parking lot at school pick up time

2010-12-17T18:22:00.008+01:00

Christmas at School

New fallen snow was piled high today all around town and set the mood to be extra special for the JulFest Christmas celebration at TheGirls school.

The bright and drifted snow in the early morning at school

The old Chicken coop turned play house covered in snow

The kids in Swede girls class wet felted the Tomtes on this nature table earlier in the week, and all took one home.

The advent calendar at school has black paper with windows that open to reveal tissue paper 'stained glass' cut outs of the nativity scene.

One of the trees outside was decorated with pepparkakor and apples hung from red ribbon

I missed the school day celebration, but they had a special vegetarian JulBord, or traditional Swedish Christmas buffet, with soy sausage, potatoes gratin, cabbages, and various pickles for lunch. They sang holiday songs and danced around a Christmas Tree. The teacher completed telling the story of The Nativity, which has been told in parts all week long.

SwedeGirl decorated Pepparkakor in Class

SwedeBaby got a decorated Pepparkakor as a gift from the teacher. They each got a little felted animal and some hand dipped candles as gifts from their teacher as well.

Once home, Swedegirl asked to write a letter to Santa. She drew a picture of the nativity, and intends to send it to Santa. In our not overly Christian home, it was nice to see her processing the story and making it as a gift for Santa!

2010-12-14T11:20:00.008+01:00

Santa Lucia Day in Sweden

December 13th, Sweden celebrates the return on the light by honoring Santa Lucia.

This is our second Lucia in Sweden. Before the Julian calendar, solstice fell near the time Lucia is celebrated. The practice of having a young girl dress as Lucia is actually a newish way of observing the return of the light, but the idea of welcoming the sun's return amongst the darkest days of winter is older than anyone can say for sure.

We prepared by having Swededaddy, the Swede of the house, bake some gluten free pepparkakor cookies with the girls.

I made egg nog, my traditional American holiday drink, to sip as we baked.

SwedeGirl is a great baker, and even the little one enjoyed stamping out cookies with Swededaddy's help.

They came out very nice, ready for Lucia morning!

We celebrated Lucia on Sunday morning the 12th, so it would be on a slow unhurried weekend day instead of Monday. SwedeGirl set her alarm, got out of bed and arranged a plate of cookies, and dressed her self, and came singing into our room, waking us. We were amazed and honored to see Lucia! She had to take off her crown to show us, 'Mom, it's ME!!!!' Boy, she was good and fooled us, we thought Lucia had really come.

We took a drive to Farmor's-grandma's so Lucia could visit.

I am obsessed with photographing the sun, and there is no way I can capture how bright and white the light is when it shines over a field of snow, but I keep trying.

Lucia brought cookies, and Light

My cookie monsters think the best part of Lucia is the Pepparkakor!!

At Farmor's we found a picture of a Lucia Procession Swededaddy had painted as a child. So nice to see my girls being part of the tradition from his childhood!

On Lucia day, there was a event at school but the girls felt like staying home, and after a busy weekend I did not object, so they skipped the school Lucia. We planned to go to a church Lucia in the village church that night, and SwedeGirl decided that was enough for her.

Soft fluffy crystal snow flakes, the kind where you can really see all six sides fell as we entered the church, while the bells chimed.

The light from the street shone through the stained glass of the church window, making magical colors in the entryway

A nearby sign reminded us the church dates back to the 1500's

Lucia and her procession entered and sang their Songs

We returned home and it was still quite early. I had lamb stew with a holiday beer as part of the broth waiting for us, and had some ris gröt, glögg, and pepparkakor for desert. We put on some Christmas music and had a very cozy evening at home with a fire in the fire place, decorating the tree.

Happy Lucia, welcome the light!

2010-12-14T10:57:00.005+01:00

Oh, Christmas Tree

The weekend brought sunshine and temperatures above freezing.

Which means it was slushy and wet when we headed out to get our Christmas tree!

We had been planning to go cut one in the forest, but found less motivation and energy than we planned for that day, so we went to a cut your own tree farm.

And had fun wandering amongst the trees.....

That all look a bit Charlie Brown, too me, as the Swedish Kungsgranar have these really sparse tops, which look too naked for me.

So we settled for a fundraiser tree from the grocery store parking lot to benefit the kids sports club, it was my type of tree, all full and nice on top!

JUST the right size!

2010-12-10T12:30:00.006+01:00

Beautiful Morning

2010-12-08T11:08:00.016+01:00

GingerBread House
Our Fairy Tale Perfect Housing

My girl has been asking me to make a gingerbread house, and our first one ever came out looking pretty good!

The girls had tons of fun making it....

And it was as easy as buying this 23 kronor box from Anna's, the maker of the best Swedish pepparkakor/ gingerbread cookies!

I was all for doing the gingerbread house but imagined it taking a day or more. When I saw this short cut of buying a prefab yummy house, and envisioned skipping the struggle of finding the perfect dough, and then perfect construction plan, I was happy to lay my money down. The house became an instantly do able project, all fun no hassle. I found my kit at Co Op Forum, but I hear these boxes are sold at IKEA USA. It has the building parts only- 4 walls, 2 roof slabs, and 4 pieces for a chimney.

We made our own icing and decorated it using naturally colored candy from our stash. Gel hearts, and the last of the Sunspire M and Ms from the USA trip.

The Royal Icing for cement was easy, just beat one egg white with 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, and 1/8 tsp of cream of tartar powder. Two of the house pieces were broken, and the cement icing glued it back together nicely.

We made sure we had an extra box of Anna's pepparkakor on hand for my tasty-tasters, who were ready to eat some gingerbread, even though they had to keep their hands off the building materials!

The mom had to assemble the house while the girls watched and munched cookies, but they got to put the candies on.

We thought we did alright for amateurs.

Around town, we have spied these gingerbread creations in the bakery window.

I hate marzipan, and red food coloring, but the marzipan tomtes are pretty cute.

And the cinnamon sticks used for logs are nice touches, too.

2010-12-06T00:20:00.009+01:00

Christmas Bazaar- Jul Basar

at the Waldorf School

The Waldorf school Christmas Bazaar provided us with the perfect chance to reintroduce the children to dagis-preschool after being away for 6 weeks.

We got to go as a family and discover how the school looked under the snow fall

And play together on the snow covered swings.

The window decorations reflected the white of the world outdoors.

This sweet pastel of a child exploring in the snow was on a wall in SwedeGirl's classroom.

The season table at SwedeBaby's dagis has changed from fall to Winter since we left.

The table in SwedeGirl's class has changed to winter, too.

Though cold outside, the Steiner inspired school always has a special warmth inside.

We were able to explore the classrooms of all the grades as there were activities through out the school.

A chalk board in the middle school had a magical winter drawing.

A table in the 7th grade classroom, where the kids did a holiday puppet show for the little ones with handmade puppets. It was a fund raiser for the big trip they will take in 9th grade, usually to somewhere in Africa.

The older children were also selling crafts they made.

Paper Lanterns

Bent Wire Wrapped Tomte

Felt Tomte

Wool Angels

Under the seasonal art work of the older children

there was glögg and pepparkakor for sale.

And a variety of homemade baked good are almost always on hand at school events.

A Seasonal Specialty of Sweden for Lucia time

Lussekatte buns

There was also a craft room where baskets of wool, felt, wire, beads, and sticks were on hand to make decorations such as these.

I met a few new English speaking families while making wool angels.

And SwedeDaddy and the Girl worked on a star of sticks and ribbon.

Tomorrow, we hope to head back to school and get back in routine of our Swedish life for a few weeks before the holiday break.

2010-12-05T23:18:00.023+01:00

It's Tomte Time

Christmas in Sweden means looking out for ways to celebrate the little tomte- gnomes named for the land- who purportedly look like these guys. They live outdoors, usually in the barn, and can make mischief for you if not treated to the occasional bowl of rice pudding or other acknowledgment of their service to your family.

The Tomte embody the Christmas spirit in Sweden.

This is only our second year in Sweden for Christmas, since last year we took pappaledig and returned to USA for Thanksgiving to Valentine's day. But we learned one thing our first year, and that is that the big build up to Christmas with Christmas markets and other charming events happens early.

I returned to Sweden Dec 2nd, and the regional Christmas event calendar showed there were just a few markets and events left on the schedule. Determined to get a dose of tomte style Swedish Christmas charm in, we planned to head to a old viking fortress where there was an event that touted old fashioned Swedish Christmas merriment in a historic setting with a good restaurant. The program promised baking papparkakor on a wood hearth, instruction on creating traditional southern Swedish straw ornaments, story telling for children, and dancing around a Christmas tree. We headed to the said destination only to find it was closed due to the weather. It was no short drive to get there, and we were disappointed. It felt a little like when Chevy Chase arrives to find WallyWorld closed in the movie 'Vacation'.

But fresh off ten hours of airline delays on my return to Sweden, I was feeling either crazed or unfazed by delays. We decided to pursue merriment anyway, and proceeded to head across the region to the other event we had considered, a Christmas celebration at a cultural museum. Very far away. We got there at sunset, which is only at 3:30, after all.

This would have been fine but we found it was an outdoor event, and while we had the required clothes, mostly, we lacked two things that would bring our outing to an early end- one mitten for the toddler, and a stroller. The event was spread over acreage, and this created the problem of traveling mileage. After spending the last few weeks in only a diaper or swimsuit, and swimming in warm pools, SwedeBaby was a bit indignant about the multiple layers of clothing immobilizing her, her one very cold hand, and being squeezed into the baby carrier with all her layers and mine compressing her, and then being carted around for three hours with only a slit of a view between her hat and my coat.

But our time at the museum did start off sweet. We had a little Swedish style dance around a Christmas tree with a musician alternating between a fiddle and an accordion.

It is funny that the midsommar songs for the maypole dances are also used for the Christmas tree. But there were many new ones, too. Swedegirl was an enthusiastic participant in the dances.

A song about a pig, in Swedish pigs say 'gnuff gnuff gnuff'- at midsummer this song is a classic, but is usually about a small frog. This fiddler does a frighteningly accurate pig sound at the end of the song.

Sometime after the dancing the break down began, but we did get to observe some wood fired baking in at this little hut.

A band with accordion, drums, and a fiddle came in and sang songs, and cheered the increasingly grumpy toddler up for a bit.

I was hoping to get some tips on making these types of typical Skåne straw ornaments....

We had a nice stop in a old farm mill house for Glögg and Pepparkakor. There were hay bales for seating, and a fire to warm our hands. This was tomte spotting territory for sure. But it was also the end of the road. We cajoled the children to let us trek to the old farm house area, where there was music, candle dipping, straw ornament making, and other demonstrations of Christmas crafting from times past. But there was a long line to get a turn to go in the small building, and the toddler reached full volume of protest at this point. I think she may have been wondering where the hot tub went, and why she was being compressed like a waffle in a waffle iron between the layers of clothing and the baby carrier.

We grabbed some home baked cookies from one of the many booths we did not have time to browse, to bribe the children to make it to the car with minimal whining, and called it a day. Once comfortably warm and reasonably dressed and in her car seat, SwedeBaby returned to her sweet natured self and enjoyed the cookies. SwedeDaddy and I were a bit worse for the wear after the crying, but satisfied with having made a day's tour de Skåne and wishing we had a bit more glögg to warm us on the drive home. I was grateful that this was a side of our girl she only revealed when truly and reasonably uncomfortable, and that I had made it through the one parent overseas flights with two happy kids.

2010-12-05T13:14:00.009+01:00

Nordic Sunshine

The winter sun in Sweden is not as high or as golden as in Florida, but it is magical.

Especially as it shines down the snow drifts on the farmland of Skåne in the south of Sweden

Dotted with contrasting lines of bare trees

At home, the midday sunshine in the front yard over the neighbors house

Two PM, the sun is as high as it goes, not clearing the gables on the house

Good to be home. The day we returned the skies were blue, making a beautiful contrast against the trees and illuminating the white wonderland.

Lots of snow on the swings, you can see how much has been falling.

A wish come true, knee deep snow for the girl. Winter came a month earlier than usual, but it made her wish of returning to snow in Sweden from our Florida trip a reality.

Home Sweet Home

The Backyard

Sledding on our Street

I think we have a lot of winter ahead.

2010-11-24T02:24:00.012+01:00

The Sunshine State

This youtube video is the soundtrack to this post:

2010-11-23T21:52:00.009+01:00

It is Good to Be From Florida

Feeling grateful for Fall, Family, and Florida.

There is little the sand, sun, and mother ocean

can not repair.

2010-11-20T15:08:00.010+01:00

Mother Blessed

This is my third pregnancy, and my third mother blessing.

Mother Blessings are a lovely tradition observed by my Florida circle of mothers. It is such a meaningful way to prepare for birth, to open for all that comes when a new soul is preparing to come to the family, the community...finding its way to earth.

Such sweetness.

Blessed and juju'd up, I am filled with love and support that will carry me through until the birthing time comes next February or March.

2010-11-12T23:16:00.007+01:00

Still in Florida

While the leaves have gone and the first snow falls in Sweden, we are in the green.

With Flamingos

Friends, so many friends to see here....

Gators

Parrots

Outside Play in cool and perfect weather

Palms, real and pretend

Sunny swimming

Thanks!

Best of Both Worlds, indeed.

How to do this annually?

And make it our life to be part here and part there?

2010-11-01T03:48:00.041+01:00

The Halloween Circus

I said I felt we were returning to a circus by coming back to the USA from Sweden, and this week it was like Ralph's World Harry's Haunted Halloween Circus.

The week was a full one, with several playdates with old friends, a trip back to the library for story time and a load of books to inspire us with Halloween stories and crafts, and some beach time. We are staying where there is a great pool, so we try to swim everyday in the 82 degree water or lounge in the hot tub. Yipeeee! Our goal: Swim Everyday we are here or make up for a day by swimming twice if we miss a day. It resets us all, and wears out the kids, which crucial while on this trip when pregnant mommy is the only parent on duty. Even if the grandparents are very helpful.

The Halloween Circus began for the weekend. Friday night, we headed to a local community center to a Halloween party sponsored by the county parks department, with crafts, games, and lots of kids. It was held at a park that was a favorite of ours, and my girl remembered going there for Halloween previously and doing bean bag toss games, so attending this was on her wish list. The costumes were not ready, but I had left things behind in Florida that did not fit in my suitcases last trip, including costume clothes I bought for our dress up bin last year at 90% off! We put together a witch and vampire costume together in a pinch, no problem.

It was exciting to be surrounded by kids in costumes, and a whole gym full of county sponsored Halloween crafts and games. There was also a Halloween hunt where a field was littered with prizes like spider rings and glow bracelets. This was first, along with what was being hunted- Halloween Eggs. It was a bit Tim Burton, a bit of holiday genre bending going on with that. They were like plastic easter eggs, half black and half orange, filled with prizes. Yes, another sign that there is waaaay too much commercialization of everything over here!! The circus, but fun, still. We ran into a family who I midwifed for, so it was fun to see the babies I caught all big and grown up looking, and chat and catch up with the parents. Ah, small talk with familiars in english!

The next day, grandpa got his chance to carve pumpkins once again

Come that evening, we went to a family party for my cousin's one year old baby- a birthday costume party. My cousin is 7 years younger than me, and he was the first baby I spoon fed while he sat in a high chair. It was a delight to see him feeding his son in his high chair.

It was great to be at a Halloween costume party with my cousins, parents, grandma, an aunt I rarely see since a family divorce, and an uncle who is now walking fully after a motorcycle accident that nearly killed him last year. I had the job of assessing and reporting to my extended family if he was roadkill last February, and was one of the first to see him while still fresh in the trauma center, so it was true joy to see him walking around and dressed up and drinking beer.

My cousin is known as quite the hunter. He just gave me 5 lbs of alligator meat from the 9 1/2 foot alligator he hunted last week. That is a whole other wild tale, that involves him sinking the boat in the gator infested lake at night. And he had a costume, yes he did! His brothers and sister were in town and they were the Scooby doo crew. I say, there is nothing like eating battered and deep fried gator dipped in hot sauce fried fresh by man in a Scooby Suit, while he tends two crock pots full of BBQed wild boar for pulled pork sandwiches.

Scooby Snacks, anyone?

And Halloween proper, there were at least three awesome, not to be missed day time events going on. So we missed two, and headed to the always magical Children's Garden for Halloween fun. The girls still wearing their 'in a pinch' witch and vampire costumes (now made better with vampire teeth from the park event) as the real ones were awaiting finishing touches.

She got her face painted

And met up with some friends, the daughter of a guy I know from high school. This is another little girl I knew when she was just growing in her mom's tummy. Great to see the family, they are now expecting their second child at Christmas.

More babies from my midwife days, this one nearly 11. I knew her mom from middle school softball. We used to carpool in 7th grade, when we were not much older than her daughter is now.

I was part of 3 births in their family of 5 kids, and shared office space with them when I was starting out. It was fun to hear all about their homeschooling adventures, and catch up.

And the children's garden is such a fun place to play!!!!

To climb

Dig

Water the flowers in the butterfly garden

It is truly magical, born of a lovely dreamer

After playing until lunchtime, we headed back home for food and naps. Then we got dressed up to join friends for a potluck dinner and trick or treating with the tribe. I could not get baby to sit still enough to model her mouse costume, now finally done with finishing touches!

One eyed one horned flying through the air purple people eater, as she called herself

Totally excited to use Halloween Hair color for the first time!

The Party!

Bam Bam in front of the ultimate man cave..... the papa of this family hosting the party has a converted garage filled with TVs and sports paraphernalia used for watching sports, loving called his man cave. So this little cave man fits right in, massive BBQ grill and all.

Frida Kahlo and her Viking, with fairy princess

The Hostess WHO makes it all happen.

Swedegirl and her buddies with pink hair! There is a favorite picture like this one from 3 years ago when the girls were almost 3, here they are almost 6.

Another favorite gal pal kitty!

It felt so good to hang out with my people, get to see all the kids in costumes. There was peter pan and tinker bell, a vampire, Harry Potter, an Egyptian princess, a mad surgeon, and more...

We headed out together in a pack of nearly 20 trick or treating. The thing that was so great was there were MULTIPLE packs of 20 roaming the streets. We drove home in the dark through pack and pack after of kids wearing glow necklaces. When we were out, I heard a parent remind the kids 'say trick or treat!' and wonder out loud when their kid stopped saying trick or treat.. Another chimed in 'maybe about the time Halloween became a month long holiday!' So true. It is done up so much in the USA these days! But back home in Sweden, one thing about the trick or treating has seemed unclear to Swedes I know curious about Halloween, and that is that saying Trick or Treat is not actually perceived as a threat. The only tricking done on Halloween is done by mischievous teens who may try their hand at egging a house or car, or toilet papering a tree of a teacher or kid they know. It does not have anything to do with if you give the kids candy or not. People have their houses decorated, and sit nearby waiting for their doorbell to ring, and they answer and the kids yell 'trick or treat!' .... but it is just an announcement they are there, used as a greeting more than a threat.

Trick or Treat!!

What's in the bag at the end of the night? Mostly chocolate, and only three pieces had forbidden food coloring that I had to trade out.

Happy Halloween!!

It was good to get a big old dose of America, and get to be part of the Halloween Circus with family, friends, familars, and have even more options for fun than we could possibly participate in.

At every event we went to, there were people I knew from way back when and children I helped be born. It is great to be known, and as someone special to many people. It has been humbling to go from being the village midwife to being just an unemployed american stay at home mom anomaly who does not know swedish. I may have a great life started in Sweden, but to settle there I will need to accept the type of relationships I have here are special and irreplaceable, and make a new life there that is built on something else entirely. A real future in Sweden would be in letting go of my sense of the old me, and opening to a new one.

On this Day of the Dead, I am not sure if I am into resurrection or burial.

2010-10-25T03:14:00.029+02:00

Down Home, and Dirty

My little travelers and I left Sweden Tuesday, and arrived in Florida late Tuesday night. We had all the luck in the world with us, it was one of the easiest trips we have made. The kids started on their regular bedtimes and wake times from day one. Monday we skipped the one year old's nap, and with a well timed DVD for the 5 year old that she watched while the one year old napped on the plane, I even got a nap on the plane. Except for that one normal nap on the plane, the kids stayed awake until 1 am Swedish time when we changed planes in JFK New York. Then they both fell asleep for the entire second flight with out a fuss. We arrived at 5 am Swedish time, or 11am Florida time, and they stayed in bed until 7 am Florida time. Off to a good start!

By day two, we headed to the library for the big bags of books I was missing, and caught an English language story time. We met a friend and her two year old, and ran into one of Swedegirls favorite babysitters, who was there with a child she was looking after. It felt good to be home, to participate in an activity in my own language, with friends and familiar faces, themes, and songs. We checked out 27 items from the long rows of books, CDs, and movies to to choose from! (I like to copy movies and CDs to bring back to Sweden.)

But our big Re introduction to our Florida Tribe of friends was the Ranch Camp Over Birthday party!

When we left Florida in February, we had a ranch camp out party for my girl and her dear friend whose grandparents have a beautiful piece of property in the Florida woods....we got back just in time to celebrate the freind's brother's birthday with a camp out at the same ranch.

I was the midwife at the birth of all these kids. It is a really special connection to see them grow.

We got to the ranch and SwedeGirl fell right into line with her favorite gal pals, to do something she has been begging me to do....Bob for Apples!

The birthday boy went head over heels for it....

Swedegirl was determined and fierce in her pursuit of an apple!

The day this boy, now celebrating his 7th birthday, was born shook the earth and brought so much love...he is the oldest of the tribe, and the love that came in with him helped us birth the wonderful community of mothers, families, and friends that gathered to celebrate this milestone.

Seven. Old enough to play a trick on everyone when he blew out his candles, surprising us with vampire teeth!

His grandparents took the whole tribe of kids on a hay ride...

SwedeBaby got busy trying to make some friends.

The kids played hard, and got so dirty.

Here they are sucking down the most American of treats, root beer floats. We are not in Sweden anymore!!!

Dirty, tired happy kids passed out in the tents after a delicious potluck dinner.

The grown ups gathered round for some no kid time in a fire circle under a very magical rainbow rimmed full moon, that cast moon shadows through the live oaks and Spanish moss...

No beer for the pregnant mama, so s'mores it was!!

T. and K. are s'mores making MACHINES. They have it down perfect.

The tent, amongst the oaks at dawn

Good morning, SwedeBaby!

And friends....coffee and amazing breakfast buffet.

Kids were catching toads....

The very last thing I did on our February trip to Florida was attend this little guy's birth. I got home from his sweet birth just 5 hours before the plane took off....

His family, Living in the Light.

Kids and dirt. These are a few of my favorite things....

The pack. It was so great to see my girl with her friends, and know what she was saying while she was playing.

Posing like the bad guys from Star Wars.

How to entertain a baby while you pack up a tent. He was drumming, and it was good!

Happy SwedeGirl

Dirty Feet

Calls for a bath at grandmas, and a long nap for the momma while the grandparents entertain the kids!

The SwedeLife. The Best of Both Worlds.

So glad I am here.

2010-10-18T02:02:00.006+02:00

Pig tails, Frost, and Family

We got Pigtails

And the Frost came hard today, sticking in the shade past noon, ending the garden season at last....

Bye Bye Garden!

We are enjoying a nice visit from our sister in law and brother in law. My camera is broke, so no pics from me on that.... But we are enjoying turning the conversation back to the things we love about Sweden, as they are new transplants to Stockholm from Washington DC, and seeing it all with fresh eyes.

Booking tickets to Florida last week relived my home sickness. I had planned to go to Florida in January, then in the summer planned to move the trip up to October on account of the pregnancy. Then I started second guessing if that was practical. After sitting with it, I realized I just need to follow through and do this trip right now. I think it was the idea of not making it to Florida this fall that had my mind spinning, thinking so much about Sweden vs. USA. It was indecision over the travels more than a general dissatisfaction about my life that was really tormenting me. I just needed to get clear that taking this trip is important. I am feeling very happy and excited to go back to visit Florida, and also very happy and grateful for my life in Sweden.

By being here now, I figured out to go there then.

Or perhaps knowing I am going there then is helping me be here now.

Either way, I feel better.

2010-10-13T14:18:00.012+02:00

Take me to Normal Land.

I know a little girl of 2, and when she pretends to go somewhere imaginary she says she is going to NormalLand. Sign me up.....

I am heading to NormalLand in 6 days...Oct 19th SwedeMomma and the girls are heading to Florida for 5 weeks, returning Dec 1st just in in time for Swedish Lucia magic.

I have been very thoughtful about the differences between Sweden and the USA lately. I am living the conflicted life that everything here is structurally perfect, the house, the seasons, the school, the little red barns and tapestry of green and yellow fields bordered by the colorful autumn trees of the Skåne landscape. It is picture perfect.

We left Florida in July 2008 just months before the economy crashed, with Bush and Cheney still in power. The feeling was one of impending doom....when we left, it was like the typical TV car wreck scene from CHIPS where someone is running away from an over turned crashed car that is leaking gasoline and ready to blow. We were running for cover. And sure enough, right as we settled here we peeked out of our sheltered place to see the american economy implode. The wreckage is still smoldering, and the damage still being assessed, and people are trying to remake their lives under new circumstances created by so many personal tragedies, small and large. We feel lucky to have escaped so many of the problems those we left behind are facing.

But I miss my people. I miss my home. I miss working, my friends, and knowing how to participate in the society around me.

In childhood I would imagine my jungle gym a circus. I created a shows, made tickets, and imagined a packed house ready to join me in the fun. As a grown up, I am full of ideas, always connecting to people and connecting them to each other, seeing possibility and potential all around me, and making things happen. I create circuses, and people come. In Sweden, for better or worse, I know no one, and while my little world here could not be more beautiful, there is only my family to share it with. For now, it is enough. It is healing to be in the isolated peace, but the quiet is getting deafening. I find myself longing to get the circus started once again. To be part of the world again.

On my return, I look forward to hanging out with my parents, swimming in the sunshine and relaxing in the hot tub at night, visiting with my sister and her two little girls, my brother will take my girls fishing, and my mom and dad can see how cute my little girl is at 18 months. Swededadddy will stay home and tend to his family business, and we will miss him, but are glad to be heading out. I am going back in time for a favorite boy's 7th birthday camp out party, will make the 1st, 3rd and 6th birthday parties for a cousin's baby and two special little friends, see high school friends, will go to a Halloween party I would probably cry about missing if I had to read blog posts about it from a far, and have a big family Thanksgiving with a special appearance by an aunt traveling from far away. I am in limbo in Sweden. I still am creating a life here. But meanwhile, the life I left behind in the town my family lives in, that I grew up in, started a business in, and became a mother in is perfectly intact. I can drop in, head out with friends and bask in the excitement and beauty that comes from returning to a stage already set, a life that has been on pause. It's like old times, but better, as everyone is all the more happy to see us since we have been gone.

I wonder how it will feel to be home on this trip. Last time we went to America, we felt like it was a great place to visit, but we were glad we did not live there. It seemed so busy, fast, overstimulating, over consuming, impoverished, and stressed. It was like one big Disney World turned into a whole nation. We were glad to come back to quiet, sane, safe Sweden. Now, the craziness of it all aside, I miss the singular fact that it is where I am from. It is a big crazy circus, a nation in pain struggling with some very hard issues, but it is home.

To me, it is NormalLand, and I am going back.

I always did like the circus. So we got some tickets, but I am not sure we are ready to run off to join the show.

2010-10-10T22:02:00.011+02:00

Punkin' Time

Nothing says Fall on a momblog like some

Pictures of Kids and Pumpkins!

Jack o Latern Pumpkins are an imported tradition in Sweden, a nod to American Halloween...we are lucky there is a lovely pumpkin patch not too far away that gives us a good fall fix.

2010-10-10T20:57:00.005+02:00

Apples ripe for the Pickin'

2010-10-10T20:54:00.003+02:00

SwedeBaby Loves to Do Dishes.

2010-09-26T23:28:00.025+02:00

Here Now:

Dagis, BarnLoppis Deals, and Apples

With the start of dagis-preschool, we got a dose of the community germs and all got a snarfaly nose and were dragging a bit this weekend. Maybe tomorrow we will stay home from school until everyone is 100% better. I was missing Florida a lot last week, and switched my mind to just appreciate all the things around me.

Here we ARE. We are having a third baby, and we are in Sweden, no changing places in the world for at least two years. I am opening to absorbing more Swedish language, but also to maybe moving back to USA someday too, if I can not understand my kid by the time she is seven. Increasingly, I do not know what is going on in her world and that will become more of a problem as she begins to read, have meaningful friendships, and do school work. And in general, I miss over stuffed bags of english library books, small talk, friends, work, and understanding what the hell is going on around me. But I love Sweden. And most of these things would be remedied by learning some Swedish. We will see. We always said we were trying it out.... so we are.

For now, here we are. And it is lovely.

The parking lot at school is next to a field of sheep.

So we sing Ba ba black sheep when we get to school.

The baby loves to watch the sheep, and goes running to them yelling BaAAA! BaaAAA!! and scares them away.

There are chickens at school, too

When I picked her up Friday, I had to retrieve SwedeGirl from the potato patch in the school's kitchen garden where she and her new friend were digging up earth worms. Then I had to wait while she fed them to the chickens.

And the little sister playing peek a boo on the pirate boat in the sandbox

Our runny noses did not stop us from heading out to the big second hand clothing sale in the town I love to mispronounce, Höör, (which is right past the village of He by the way).

We outfitted the girls with 50 kronor snow suits ($7), 30 kronor boots, and 30 kronor rain suits ($4.50). We finally figured out that the second hand shops here are lame, but the spring and fall barnloppis sale in the village of Höör is not to be missed.

The cute 35 kronor fuzzy bunny newborn outfit for the baby to come...

Since we were up at 'em early this weekend, we extended the trip and went to the Kiviks Apple festival. They are a big distributor of apple juice and other juices in southern Sweden, and they have a legendary apple festival each year in the little harbor town of Kivik where the 'big' (still tiny by USA standards) juice processing plant is. The festival is famous for having a huge apple mosiac each year.

Apple Mosaic

The big apple mosaic featured 7 kinds of apples, 35,000 in all. The man pictured is Fritiof Nilsson Piraten, the author most famous for Bombi Bitt och Jag published in 1932 about Bombi Bitt, a young boy often described as the Swedish Tom Sawyer. In the story, he heads to Kivik for the big market and goes to the circus and has other adventures, thus the circus motif.

How do like them apples?

Really.

Apples. And Candy Apple. And Apple Donuts.

The circus tent was full of apples of all types....

Please do not eat the decorations.

These apple balls were made of one variety each, to demonstrate the types of apples used in the big mosaic.

The whole ten was lined with apples on a rail, all different kinds. We did not count them but there were HUNDREDS. We simply did not know there are THAT many kinds. We decided our penchant for eating organic galas is like always drinking merlot...a sign of our lack of knowledge of varieties, and generally unadventurous.

The town was all mist, apples, and sea side festival.

We stopped on the way home and picked big bouquets of rogue sunflowers we found growing on the roadside, bought fresh picked organic apples, and bought a big juice pack sampler from Kiviks on the way home.

I do just love Swedish Autumn.

2010-09-22T21:30:00.020+02:00

Hösten är här med svamp och bär...

As the Swedish song my girl sings in dagis- school goes, Fall is here with mushrooms and berries... and songs from dagis like that one.

We headed back to school today.

There was a special first day of fall party, and I got to join SwedeGirl and her class in circle games and fall songs. I left her with a kiss as they settled in on the hilltops of Skåne on a sunny cool day to eat the soup the teachers cooked on the outdoor stove out of the veggies they had each brought earlier in the week for their nature table. We had brought one of our honkin' big zukes.

I continued the introduction of SwedeBaby to her new little class, where we expect she will eventually spend three mornings a week. We arrived in time for samling, or circle time today, and they sat in circle and sang sweet songs about fall, then they headed out to the big sandbox playground for tea time. She was delighted by the child sized tea cup, and had one of her favorite snacks, rice cakes with butter (they even use organic butter at our school). She also had the choice of basil flavored sesame paste....then she played in the sand box and was eventually joined by her sister. She heard an airplane at one point, and grabbed the hand of her classmate and pointed up to the sky to show her. It was nice to see her so happy, brave, extroverted, and social in a new place.

Her sweet little classroom

We can arrange her schedule as we wish, with her attending school for up to 25 hours a week. I like a few days home with my girls with nothing planned, so we expect to do more no more than 3 days a week at school. SwedeGirl is accustomed to three full days, but the little one will only be up for half days, so we have to feel out what works for everyone. It is a half hour drive away, and we only have one car, so the girls will have to be one the same schedule. We will see how it goes.

My little one is still so little to me. Only a year and a half since she came out!!! I have never put my other daughter in a group like this when she was so small. I worked two or three office days a week my first daughter was a baby, was on call for random births, and on other days she accompanied me when I did home visits. She had a nanny, the fabulous Miss Kate, who stayed at home with her when I worked. She never did the group thing until she was nearly three years old, so I am a bit nervous leaving my littlest with out a personal assistant. Her dagis group is small enough, there are 4 children to one teacher, and two of the children have yet to start. So there is just one other 20 month old in her class right now and they intermingle with the other small groups made up of 4 kids and a teacher. But, still, the teachers are doing other things sometimes, and I wonder how my little non verbal girl will fare. Our family understands her personal language, her signs and sounds, but it is nothing she can use to communicate her needs to her teachers, or tell me about her day. Today in the sandbox her little classmate came up to join her playing in the sand, and took her shovel. she was happy to have a playmate, but needed her shovel back in order to play with her.

I saw the interaction and was able to go get a second shovel and help facilitate smooth, frustration free play for the two new friends. I just wonder, though, how ugly would it have gotten if I had not been able to help? I raised my last daughter amongst parents who stayed home, and were able to act as their child's personal assistant in these early years. How do the littlest ones fare before they can talk? It was in this time from 1 1/2 to 3 years old we taught them please, thank you, how to share, and that they could not grab or hit... and that when they did they had to sign sorry to their little friend. We watched and carefully showed them how to be kind.

I asked the teacher how they handle things for such young children, things like the shovel incident, and she said they often see and can help. But I asked what about the many times you are busy and do not? She said they learn it does not get worked out for them, or they learn to work it out, and that the older ones often help. But still, I am unsettled, thinking there would be a new, unnatural frustration for my girl if she spent lots of time in an environment away from a caregiver that knows her really, really intimately and was there to find another shovel.

The girls are in classes that have adjoining playgrounds, so big sister can come play with little sister at school. Here they were working on a pretend celery farm. I know she is caring, and tuned in to her little sister, but she is no substitute for a mom.

But 18 month olds go to dagis here. The only women still home with children here are expats like me, with speech therapy degrees and other odd educations or professions that do not translate here. Sweden is a great place to birth, and be with a small baby, but once you hit 18 months, the parenting landscape changes dramatically in Sweden. All the parents go back to work. I notice here I am more likely than I ever would in the USA to declare myself 'unemployed', as the role of stay at home parent is fairly unknown after 18 months. My littlest is going to dagis because she can, and because we had to start now if we wanted to hold a place for her in this little school we love so much. We had to start now or maybe miss out on her slot. And since we have no babysitter or help with the kids here, it will give me some freedom if she has a place to go. I want her to settle in, so she will be comfortable there when our third baby arrives in the late winter so I will not have to chase at home in the weeks when I am recovering from birth.

She enjoyed her day today- it is a great environment, and I think she is ready for her world to be a little bigger. Just not sure how she will do with out her parents, of course.

The teacher was busy at this pretty table chopping veggies for the fall soup for the children.

I am the rare stay at home mom in Sweden. I may have no one to play with, but I do have 25 hours of quality daycare per kid to use. Back home, I had lots of stay at home mom friends, and my girls and I would often wake and evacuate the house almost in PJS, and I would flop on a friend's couch and let our kids play together and enjoy coffee with my friend. Or we would meet up with kids at a animal park or playground. Or head to my mom and dad's house 5 minutes away. It was like I had coworkers, and some adult company while raising kids. Things to do and places to go with friends so our life was busy and happy. Here, I have not got the assortment of close friends for parenting coworkers. But once we get into the swing with dagis, I will at least have the relief of a few shifts off every week.

I am restless now in this time of transition. Transition of the seasons, of back home, back to the new version of regular life. But I really have the best set up. We have the perfect little school, I will soon have access to quiet alone time, and we have a peaceful home surrounded by woods that make for great walks. And all I thought about this week was what I do not have- friends and my family. But if I can focus on what I have, it is the perfect chance to do so much. I need not be distracted by chit chat, and socializing. I could do some Swedish lessons on the computer, learn to knit- as we all need new hats and scarfs- and I live in the land of sheep now. Or write, I have so many ideas on what to write. I can do anything with this time, if I can just settle and open to what it is I have here instead of having my heart pulling me home to what I once had.

Last August my birthday mantra was 'I can take it!' and it brought me this year to EXACTLY what I wanted for my birthday last year but could not make happen then, which was to swim in the hot springs on Ischia. The place we stayed on Ischia was a time share the family we were trading with did not wish to use, and the one week we had to use it began precisely on my birthday. I can take it, and I did! On Ischia! While there, I looked at my husband and said, so this is it, how ever happy we are right now is how happy we ARE, it does not get any better than this in physical reality. Whatever else is going on is all about how we feel. In my twenties I worked in my dream job and built a lovely birth center that feeds a strong community for families in my old town, and I just spent the summer touring Europe with my handsome husband (who changes all theand two darling girls. I can take it. I have been able to do so much.

Still... my mind is just my mind.

On the way home from our big trip I had an all night drive from Rome to the Alps and got some good thinking time. I did lots of driving when I was in midwife school, and I love a good meditative road trip. I was the only one awake in the car late at night, and I was listening to music I love like Cat Stevens Tea for the Tillerman....which declares get what you want it you want it, cause you can have anything.

I switched to Eckhart Tolle 'Power of Now'. Not middle of the night material if you want to stay awake, but wonderful, and it made me think how my birthday intent from last year had played out, and that my intended journey this year should be an inner one. I did not distill as succinct or powerful mantra as 'I can take it' out in that moment, but was thinking of this year, and perhaps I just should adapt the 'I can take it mantra' and tackle my own mind. I can take it....I can be here now. Ram Dass facilitated the creation of a book by the title BeHereNow in the 60's, that was very important to me in college. It describes in western hippie terms the the eastern method to enlightenment. And it did in fact show me the way....

My room mates from that time and I would get into very elevated states of mind together. (And we were perfectly sober, it was just a State) We went to Italy together, and at Carnival in Venice danced in parades in beautiful costumes and had prophetic dreams. As we prepared to part ways at the end of the trip, we walked the streets of Venice seeing all colors, all dimensions of light, all at once. It was a very high moment that is hard to put words to, but we together knew this a glimpse of true enlightenment. We stood on a bridge, and said it is like that last part of the book Be Here Now, where it says in the end you are just on a bridge, watching yourself go by. We could see every color in the water, and both the surface and the bottom at once, and the sparkles made by the sun.

YOU'RE STANDING

ON A BRIDGE

WATCHING YOURSELF

GO BY

We sighed and absorbed the feeling.

And you know what? A little Gondola emerged from beneath the bridge, just then, a boat named Christina. The name of the friend I was with....and we watched her go by.

And there you go!

That is what I want more of in my life.

This year, as I sit with the discomfort that a nearly perfect set up life brings, I will just have to take my journey inward, or I'll forever be looking on monster.com and realtor.com thinking what else??

I was reminded today by a friend that Fall Equinox is when the Earth is perfectly balanced in light and dark. It is a rare moment worth celebrating when we find that equilibrium. And now, comes the half of the year where darkness comes, so dramatic in Sweden.

So....Fall

My soul embarks,

I will follow you into the dark.

I can take Being Here Now.

2010-09-20T21:44:00.017+02:00

My Provincial Swedish (so called) Life

Living 30 minutes outside of the city with no job or friends, I could really just show photos of corn and mushrooms all the time. But I will find something else besides how my garden grows to blog about, and actually write a post.

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day, as we had skipped observing American Father's day this summer because we were traveling. Our own Father's Day was also a way to mark the end of my husband's father leave, or pappaledig. He has been off work since June, and we had the whole summer together as a family. In Sweden we get 480 days of paid leave per child. We had one child here March 2009, and moved when my first daughter was 3 1/2. We get the full 480 days for her as well, which we can use until she is 7. But now we have used all the leave for the child born here, thus the celebration, and my husbands return to work.

The sleep-in morning plus a nap, waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, balloon-and- banner royal treatment for Fathers day

And come next sometime February to Mid March, our third baby will arrive, bringing another 480 days of leave. Yes, it is that time again for my French press to be filled daily with my favorite mix of dried herbs, to make the same pregnancy tea I was drinking when SwedeBaby was born.

Sweden is a great place to have babies. After working in birth in the USA, where the outcomes are the worst in the developed world, and the medical system (especially in regards to birth) is a god awful wrecked mess , it was a relief to birth in sane, safe Sweden. But I have not been able to work here. Sweden does not recognize my education or ten years running my own birth center, so I am unemployed. Mostly that has been great, as between pregnancy and being immersed in new baby hood, and all the travel we have done with all that pappaledig, I have been happy to not have 50 pregnant women calling at all hours of the night like they did back in the day. I have been plenty busy exploring Sweden and figuring out where to buy chocolate chips and other hard to find items I miss from home . So busy I have not worked on my Swedish hardly at all. Which does nothing to make me feel like this is my real, long term life. It is my so called life.

There are so many reasons it has been good to be here. But I am feeling especially lonely and home sick since coming back from our summer trip. My creative energy was bound up trip planning. We stretched the limits of budget travel and via home exchange and by eating lots of oatmel, we saw the south of France, the Ligurian coast, the islands near Venice, the hills of Italy, lounged in volcanic thermal pools near Capri, ate gelato at Trevini fountain in Rome, and toured the magical Neuscwhannstein castle of the Alps. All by driving the distance that in the USA would take me from Florida to Washington DC. Now the trip is over and my mind is free to look to the future once more, and I am wondering what life will bring next. So when thinking to the next baby, we are planning how we can use the pappaledig time to set us all up to be living the life we want. If we can figure out what that would be.

We said we were moving to Sweden for three years, and we would see how everyone was doing. That date comes up next summer, and I can feel the questioning of 'So, how are we doing?' burning inside.

It is a question every American who marries a Swede, or anyone who lives in one place but has a foot in another country has to constantly live with. I have a American friend here 7 years who is growing unsettled by the conformity Sweden asks of her exceptional children, a sister in law that just moved to Sweden from Washington DC, a new friend about to move here, a blogger I read who is just plotting her return, and a friend married to a Swede living back home in the Sunshine State. Each of us living with all the questions that come when you are living a great life, with an alternate dream life elsewhere.

So I am looking at Sweden with the eyes you have when you come back from a big trip, and are relieved to see home. And with the eyes of someone who is living a temporary, lovely experimental, so called life. And with the eyes of someone who misses her family, and her friends. So I am simply trying to keep them open. And my heart open.

I mostly put up pictures these days, have little time or inclination to write much since having baby #2. But let me share a few random things I could write long blog posts about but never have....

This is the food truck. I hear there was a documentary made about it. It comes down out street every Saturday just before noon. Not too early, not too late, just the right time to get any brunch ingredients you may not have on hand for the weekend.

It has a whole mini grocery store in it. We try to patronize the food truck whenever we have the chance, as we want it to keep coming. It is frequented by the elderly people on our street who come here to their little houses they still have as weekend and vacation cottages, the few houses not yet converted into regular suburban homes that harken back to the time this was a place people only came to escape the city. One little old lady from the neighborhood who lives nearby used to buy my little girl a treat each time she saw her on the truck. The lady has now moved to the village center so she can have more help for her sick husband. The food truck, a little part of my old fashoned, provincial so called life in Sweden. ~

~~~~~~

Today I began getting my 18 month old settled into her part time day care, and my girl went back to her sweet little Waldorf school. We will pay about $1800 this YEAR for for 25 hours of private Waldorf school for the girls. In Florida, it would be less hours and cost $15,400 for a year for both girls. If they still go to this school when primary school aged, it will be free. It would cost $30,000 annually to send both of the children to Waldorf school in the USA for the grades....an amount equal to an decent annual salary.

When I picked up my big girl at 4pm it was cold, gray, and and she was outside in a rain suit rolling down a hill over and over with her friends. She was breathless, sweaty, and happy. If she was in the USA, she would be in a classroom all day, with state mandated goals, and worksheets for homework every night, an no time to play and certainly no hills to play on in the rain. I really think it is healthy to wait until kids are seven to start school as they do in Sweden. I could go on and on about that point. But suffice to say I am happy my girl has a chance to wiggle, dig, explore, and lives in a place where people believe there is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing.

After school we stopped at the grocery store. The big nice one a village over with a better selection than our local store. When you walk in, there is a TV playing Winnie the Pooh movies and kid sized table and chairs.... you are invited to just leave your kid at the door watching TV while you shop!!!

Never, oh never would this happen in the USA. When we were home in winter, I had to tighten my girls roaming radius in public to conform with American standards for fear of kidnapping. Even so, I had her returned to me as 'lost' once when she was in view an aisle over at a thrift store. The sense of safety and freedom for children in Sweden is one of the things I like. Kids ride their bikes, and take public transportation everywhere. In my town in the USA there is not a single child to be found on the street.

The big sister got to sit while we shopped, little sister just got in the picture when I paused for a photo.

Did I say I could skip writing and just put up pictures of wilderness, produce, and mushrooms? Well it is true.

Because these grow here.

Saw this one on the street on the way to the food truck this weekend.

So Elsa Beskow

And after picking corn we drove through the forest and stopped to see mushroom after mushroom on the forest floor in Hackeberga Nature reserve.

A fairy condo development

This one is called 'Chicken of the Woods' and is edible. But being pregnant, I am not taking up mushrooming just now...a bad time to make an beginner's error, so I will take photos for now...

So much to love about Sweden.

And so many minutes to spend thinking about it in this quiet, so called life.

2010-09-20T21:17:00.009+02:00

Corn Harvest

So yes, we are still thinking about all that grows over here.

Corn is a summer food in USA, but it comes in quite late in the season in Sweden.

Somethings are better left to the farmers for us amateur gardeners, and corn was one. We planted a few seeds, but they did not do anything. A good crop takes space, and more know than we have. We were looking for a Saturday activity and we were in the harvesting mood after the potato pickin'. SwedeDadddy wanted to pick corn, so we found a little farm that had sold it's promised crop, and opened to the public to pick what remained of the sweet corn. They had a little ad on blocket, which is like craigslist of Sweden.

A blowy September day. It can be very windy in Skåne

Playing in the field of corn

Just 2 kronors an ear, a third of what I would pay if I was lucky enough to find sweet corn on the cob

With a little boost from her dad, Swedegirl towering over the field

We were given a wheel barrow to bring in the harvest, great fun for the girls!

A typical small farm in Skåne, houses arranged in a U to protect from the wind.

Shucks!

We got 50 ears, ready to freeze. Corn on the cob is one of the favorite veggies of the girl.

Tonight we ate some combined with the rainbow chard in the garden.

Mmmmmm, garden fresh rainbow chard.

Perfect for this recipe from Moosewood Lowfat cookbook for Black Bean Chilaquile which calls for corn and chard, a tried and true favorite Mollie Katzen recipe at our house.

2010-09-18T11:44:00.011+02:00

Little Potato, You come from Underground.

Click here and open in a second window for a little musical accompaniment to these photos. A favorite song from the days of gazing at newborns (music player at bottom of page) http://www.starbittrune.com/Jack/littlepotato.html

May 23 we put the spuds you see in the right foreground in the front garden.

And Sept 17th we got them out, a nice potato harvest! We thought maybe they were goners, as the greens were dead. Amateurs! That is what potatoes do, apparently. You harvest them 2 to 3 weeks after the greens die.

We had to water them through the drought in July, but they did fine with nature alone through August which was rather wet.

We planted 4 kinds.

The letters on the sign weathered away, so we are no longer sure what they were...

We found little garden friends while we harvested.

Earthworms.

Ladybug...one of my favorite swedish words, nyckelpiga. Such a fun word to say, we choose to always speak of ladybugs in Swedish.

We got 4 kid sized wheel barrows full!

64.4 pounds of potatoes, 29.3 kilos of potatoes!

Given they are 6 kronors a kilo in the market, which would be 175 kronors, we nearly made back the 200 kronors in seed potatoes we started with, ;).

Plus a little satisfaction.

Of each kind :

19.1 pounds, 8.7 kilos

9.3pounds , 4.24 kilo

22 pounds, 10 kilos

14 pounds, 6.36 kilos

2010-09-15T14:19:00.014+02:00

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jig....

After our long trip away we are back to home sweet home. In the heat of Italy I thought lots of Florida, and when I miss my people on long trips I still pine for the home I have in the hearts of those in Florida. I had little heart strings pulling me back to Florida sometimes on our trip. But that vanished as we came back to our sweet little home in Sweden. It is green and damp and mossy like a Swedish September. We turned on the heat, brought in some fire wood, made a pot of soup, and got out the sweaters and rain gear.

Even little people have rain gear in Sweden

I was anticipating what would be going on the garden the whole trip. It is only my second year gardening, and I could not wait to see what would come of it. We left the garden with no watering system, and were chancing it to the rain and sunshine.....

And boy did they come through for us!!

The onions are no bigger than when we left, the swiss chards is big and beautiful, and the cabbage moth larvae have been feasting on the Tuscan and green kale, leaving little green skeletons in the garden.

The Hungry Little Caterpillar, who pillaged the Kale

The spinach died out totally, but the iceberg seeds and romaine lettuce in the self watering containers are glorious!!!

Only two tiny pumpkin fruits, and long windy vines with big yellow flowers. And the most pitiful excuse for a watermelon vine ever is tucked away in there too.... If we select a few flowers we hope to still get pumpkins for Halloween, that is a good 6 weeks or more away, right?

The apples in the front on one tree are ripe, and there are a few scarce black currants holding on. I loved these the most last year (black currant sauce on morning oatmeal is so YUMMY!!) , but did not have time to pick them before we went, and sadly most have fallen away....

A few black berries still. Swedish blackberries are tasty. We ate tons of these in Germany, but the Italian ones had a special odd flavor, and were no good at all!!!

Out front, the potato greens have died, I thought we had lost them all to diseases. But we have been told this is normal to lose the greens, and that we should just check the potatoes and harvest when no longer green. Any potato farmers out there? This is my first try at this.... But the carrots are really growing!

The kids picked a few baby carrots for our lentil soup. It was nice to have veggies when we came home with out shopping!!!

A few tomatoes have ripened, but the bushy plants are growing and growing up making green leaves and more tiny fruits. We were advised to stop their growth by clipping them so the energy will go into the fruit. I think I will take this as a metaphor, and do the same for all my fall projects- let the energy I have go into ripen what has already fruited around here instead of sending too many new shoots out this fall.

Not sure if someone picked a few peas when we were gone, but Swedegirl's peas have grown but have just one flower and no pods.

Lots of wild mushrooms in the yard. A friend came by and told us a few we have are edible!

(Not this one, it has gills, ones with pipes underneath are the best bet)

Told these are edible but I am still a little reluctant and scared to eat my yard mushrooms!!

But it was the zukes that came through to impress us most!!! Last year it was the quantity that excited us, after a bit of neglect it was the size that was so exciting this year!

Left unpicked for 5 weeks, they were HUGE!!!!!

BIG!!!!

We left the biggest and picked this one, which was not the largest, but weighed 4 and a half pounds!

What to do?

I thought the big ones would be old and dry and hollow, no good to eat. It was actually sweet and good. People talk about the joy of baby zucchini, that they are young and tender, but big ones like this that can be sliced like lasagna noodles, or make crackers sized disks are pretty special and worth growing, I tell you!!! I baked some with fresh herbs from the garden and some Parmesan, and was starving and found little slices with left over olive pate from Italy was delicious.

The kids finger painting, making themselves at home, getting messy, and reacquainting themselves with the joys of home that they missed on the road.

When we arrived home at 10pm at night, both kids woke up and tried on all their shoes in the closet, with squeals of glee! Fun to see what makes a home a home. Home is where our rain boots are for now.

2010-09-04T16:35:00.002+02:00

August and half of September abroad.....

We have driven and home exchanged through Germany, France and Italy for the last month.

This is us today. SwedeDaddy's new nap spot, at the pool of volcanically thermally heated water in the swimming pool in Ischia, Italy.

We are going to go snorkel and swim here, by the grottos and then enjoy the natural hot water pools by the shore.

We chased summer to Italy this year, and are loving every minute....back home next week, though. Did I mention how much we love home exchange?!

2010-07-21T13:59:00.010+02:00

Home for July

Swededaddy's nap spot, the hammock

We are home in July. We worked on our chore lists and traveled in June, and plan to travel again come August. So this is our month at home, July. We are savoring the sweet summer at home, doing a bunch of nothing. SwedeDaddy is home on pappaledig, which means he is not working and we all are just together. We sleep in, eat pancakes, work in the garden, and swim. I think I left the house to do something other than pick something up at the store or go swimming for the first time in two weeks when we went out picking berries. It is enough for us that we can open the house and use the whole space around us with out having to suit people up in snow gear or keep things closed up as we must in winter. We have a nice big fenced yard, and so in summer, our house becomes a lot bigger. We mostly eat on the porch, and the kids run in and out all day.

Swededaddy takes stroller walks - bike rides to the grocery store with the girls

They feed the ducks

At home in the yard, SwedeGirl jumps on the trampoline

Eager to copy her sister, SwedeBaby gets a turn on her own trampoline. She has this until she is big enough for the large one

They play with the kids in the neighborhoodThe flowers are blooming all over the yard. I transplanted these from the abandoned garden we found....I had tried to grow some from seeds so I was happy to be gifted with this short cut!

I planted these from seed. I planted lots flower seeds, and it has been so dry precious few have bloomed.

The Roses. We are grateful to those who lived in this house before, the planted such pretty landscaping, and we have lots of roses.

The peonies were amazing this year

And this is a healthy big old stockrose, right next to the garden

It attracts bees

Pollination!

I have always loved these, so glad I have these pretty blue flowers in our yard. Hortensia, I think.

So we just hang out close to home......

We have had friends over for a BBQ, here is the dad playing in the back yard. This backyard set up has been good- the kiddie pool, slip n slide, and swing set next to the garden. There is a lot of hose time going on in the back yard wit hall the gardening, and when the kids are not swimming they fill the watering cans with pool water and go water the garden. Great fun for the baby, and she is doing something useful which makes her feel important.

Water spray

Splashy Swimming

Slip n sliding.....

Pool water in watering can on the way to the garden....

I found two matching elephant watering cans at various yard sales and thrift shops. This pink elephant is so cute, huh?

We have not gone many places, but when we do it is usually to swim in the local pool or lake, It usually ends in ice cream, too. We have had some sunny sandy swimmy days at our favorite nearby lake shore.

Sunny

Goofy

Sandy

Swimmy

Relaxing

Walking in the woods. We were on a mission to collect elder flower to make saft/ elder cordial, but we were late in the season and got very few flowers, then let them go to far before we did anything with them. Oh well, next year.

Our favorite big old tree. It looked like lovers this day, the female to the right and a male to the left.

This little grasshopper hopped onto Swedegirl and stayed with her all afternoon. Here I was grasshopper sitting while she climbed the tree....

Grasshoppers were our 'animal medicine' guide on our move to Sweden. Animal medicine is a native American idea that if you are open and receptive, animals will show up in your life as a messengers of spirit, and by noticing the nature of the creature, you are being an offered a lesson for your life journey. Grasshoppers are the symbol of an opportunity to take a big leap forward, and leave old karma behind. They are considered good luck. We had a huge 3 inch grasshopper hop on us one occasion as we planned what it took to leave Florida. It was so distinct we both thought, oh, this is an animal messenger moment! While this little guy was not making such a big statement with his size, the fact that he let himself be our 5 year olds pet for about 5 hours straight left an impression! This little guy was a fun reminder of our totem grasshopper from when we moved, as our two year anniversary of arriving in Sweden is tomorrow. When I told my incredulous best friend I hoped to move, we noticed we were standing under a poster that said leap of faith. We made the leap. And here we are.

And ready for the next leaps.

We can take it!

It is my mantra, my intention to increase my capacity for joy, love, adventure, and abundance....

2010-07-21T00:18:00.023+02:00

The Garden

This is our second year trying our hand at vegetable gardening. Last year the garden went in in early June and that felt late, as the tomatoes did not ripen until September. So I vowed to start earlier. I eagerly tried to start seeds in our raised bed in April. I struck my shovel to the bed to turn the dirt, and it gave a clunk. It was still frozen solid. So I waited a week or so and planted some kale, carrot, and radish seeds in early May. May 11th I put in some onion bulbs.

May 13th I had sprouts, things were looking good.

We waited. And waited. The carrots took 21 days to germinate. They came up and I felt hope. The onions greened up. But the radish and kale seedlings were not doing much.

By early July we had radish sprouts that had bolted and a little progress on the thick planting of kale sprouts. The radishes were so pitiful I pulled them all and never took a picture. In a feeble attempt at enjoying the radishes as we pulled them I ate the prize one, which was about 2 cm in diameter. Pulling them was a fun job for the 5 year old, though. She loaded them very purposefully in her wheel barrow. I was doubting the garden was going to do anything, but remembered in my eagerness to start I had not fertilized, so I thought I would give that a try. I was sensing my greens needed nitrogen.

So I pulled everything leaving only the onions in place, and dug in a bunch of fertilizer and compost in to the bed and let the July sun do its work. Things looked better, with the kale thinned and in tidy rows. But the warmed up ground and long sunny days seemed to be the thing that was really making the difference.

I also started applying seaweed tea, a nasty smelling brew made from seaweed harvested from the shore near Swededaddy's childhood home, then soaked in water. It is my secret weapon. The right to collect seaweed from that shore is deeded to farmers, so it must be good for something. I worked on a farm and they always applied fish emulsion to the greens. Seaweed tea smells as bad, so and hopefully it is giving them a mineral boost and the nitrogen they need to flourish.

I love greens and they are not sold widely in stores here, so I am going heavy on the greens in the garden. I also hear they are very resilient.

I have Tuscan Kale. And regular curly green Kale. Look I grew something from seed!!

And Swiss Chard, which I bought as a plant start at the garden store and put in in May. The chard seeds did almost nothing, so it was a good thing I found these plants! It is already ready for cut and come again harvesting.

We have eaten it three times so far...

July 6th SwedeDaddy made a new bed for the tomato plants. The tomatoes dominated the one raised bed last year, and are not supposed to be replanted in the same soil the next year. Ours did get a disease late in the season, so hopefully this new bed will be a comfy fresh start. Here they are July 13th. They are bigger already, I put up trellises now.

I also made two self watering containers and tried some spinach, romaine, and ice berg lettuce seeds in them. We will see how that goes.
We have a yellow tomato, a danish export tomato, a flavorino, some other cluster tomato, and two cocktail tomatoes. Hopefully there is enough time for them to do something this year. I think last years slow harvest may have been the result of me trimming the wrong part of the plant last year, so I hope they produce earlier. There are tons of Swedish tomatoes in the stores, I have concluded they are greenhouse tomatoes. Here is the first fruit on a cocktail tomato, July 13th.

We got some zucchini starts last year and had three really great producing zucchini that made us feel like successful gardeners. I was combing the garden centers looking for the zucchini, and had no luck. I picked up some celery, a yellow peppers, and a sweet melon as that was all they had for plant starts.

Yellow pepper, in a container.
The sweet melon start from the garden center

I never found my zucchini plant starts, much to my dismay!!

They were the one thing that we really ATE lots of last year that made the garden fun!

But I did have some seed packets.... It was so late for seeds, though!!! As a last ditch effort for zukes and pumpkins, I planted the seeds July 10th. Three days later, I was checking them three times a day and watching them change before my eyes.

Zukes really do grow that fast. If you start one thing from seed, start zukes!

So July 13th, SwedeDaddy put in a bed for the zukes.

We are starting to call it the pappaledig garden, since he is home from work on parent leave this summer. We tucked some pumpkins and watermelon in with the greens. The zukes are getting their third leaf now on July 20th. We will see what they do, the Internet says they are 45 to 65 days till maturity. We are hoping everything will grow grow while we are gone on our summer trip, and be ready for eating when we are back in September. The first freeze was not till late October last year, and the greens are best after they have been touched by frost. So hopefully we will have late maturing plants and be able to eat off this a bit this year! Maybe planting late was a good thing this year, as we will be traveling most of August.

The best and worst part of gardening with kids is that they like to play with the hose when you water. My mud monster.

We have a little berry patch we planted last year, the deer ate the plants last year so we had only one or two berries! Now its the kids eating berries here and there from our own little strawberry patch. It only produces enough to go from hand to mouth. But we also have found a little secret abandoned garden in the village, and we picked that berry patch clean. It has a little strawberry patch and a big cherry tree we have been visiting. It has kept us happy until we made our big berry picking trip today.

Baby has had to learn to ask before she pops those berries in her mouth!

Out front, we have the potato patch we started May 23rd. We also started carrots in the front, and they took just a few days to germinate now it is warm, instead of 3 weeks in the spring. I think I am getting why people start things in greenhouses now. WARMTH is key to growth. Maybe this is why the Rudolph Steiner people make a big deal out of keeping kids warm, and having a hat on in winter. Warmth equals growth.

You can see how big the sunflowers are in the foreground, this photo was taken July 6th.

Here they are 13 days later on July 19th

Things change. This is what a garden will teach you.

2010-07-20T19:08:00.007+02:00

Strawberry Picking!

I love the Swedish word for strawberries- Jordgubbar- or little earth gnomes. Swedes take great pride in their berries, their summer berries must be Swedish, as they will argue strongly no others are as sweet.

Find a self pick berry farm in Sweden.

It would not be a Swedish summer with out loads of strawberries, and it would not be a mom blog with out a post about strawberry berry picking!!! So dear reader, here you get to see how we covered our bases!! Really, what could be sweeter?

Out in a field of berries next to the grains

Under a pretty clear blue sky

Out on the edge of town where the food comes from

You can pick your own sweet little earth gnome strawberries.

The bushes were packed

The baby learned the best part of picking your own is eating bunches of sun warmed berries in the field

The Momma

The berries!

7 kilos and then some, about 16 pounds, for 186 kronors or 25 dollars

The plan? Eat them up, and freeze the rest for smoothies!

2010-07-11T02:00:00.004+02:00

Perfect Day at our Favorite Beach in Southern Sweden

I admit I have raised eye brows at the idea of a Swedish beach, thinking it was a bit of an oxymoron. Whenever we went last summer it was windy, sea weedy, or just too cold. No Florida paradise like where I come from at least! But today was the day I realized it is no joke, you can have a sunny, sandy, almost like a Florida beach day in Sweden! But it will be like Florida in March, just nearly 80 f degrees, and the water will still give you goose bumps!

Everyone was out enjoying the good weather, it was a happy kind of crowded, everyone glad to celebrate the sun and share the beach together

Sand Dunes

Some Family

Little Cousins having some fun

Big cousins making the fun

Maybe taking their roles as mummies a bit seriously?

SwedeBaby Love

At Play in the Dunes

Sandcastle building

Now, if that water was a bit warmer than 68 or so, I would be just that much happier... I learned when we had our pool in Florida anything under 80f feels too cool for me, but you take what you can get! That is the temperature of the Gulf at my home in January, and no one but my daughter is swimming in it I assure you! When the outside temperature reaches 80 like it did in Sweden today, it is like it is 100 degrees.... so the water at least qualifies as refreshing if you make an effort to relax and just plunge in it.

I even had the fun surprise of seeing a Florida friend on walk by on the beach! I knew she was in Sweden, but did not expect to run into her at all! She lives in my old town, and will be blogging about her adventures visiting her husband parents in Sweden for the next few weeks, too, on Catching Caterpillars.

2010-07-11T01:00:00.000+02:00

Midsommar on an Old Traditional Farm

We gathered for our last Midsommar celebration at a old farm where none of the buildings have been moved from their original site. Dalarna is full of old buildings, old log farm houses, but many of the farms have buildings that have been rearranged or moved.

This family home site was inhabited until the 1970's by a old man who took the position that he was born here and would die here, even when the king came to visit him to ask him to move out so it could be used as a historical site. The old buildings are examples of the construction and lifestyle of people dating back at least top the 1600s. There was a church service and a maypole raising, with our favorite fiddler troupe.

Having fika, or coffee and cakes, is a tradition as Swedish as the maypole itself.

Swedegirl finds friends whereever she goes, they went off to pick flowers for wreathes during the church service

The interior of one of the old houses

The hearth

A birthing stool!

The sleeping arrangment.

Beds of linen covered straw behind curtains in the one main room.

A woven baby bassinet basket

A first! A baby back carrier, old style. I did not know there were european back baby carrier. It has buckle straps, made of leather, and is decorated with leather hearts and stars. An ergo or beco, traditional style.

Sister in law and my SwedeBaby

The bounty of flowers Swedegirl and her new found friend picked

Raising the Maypole

She loves to find a friend wherever she goes. She loves to dance holding hands with the other little girls