Taking a break in preparing this afternoon's event of Erik and Syssa's birthday/go away/ sleep over party.
I've had a wonderful and busy week, visiting with friends.
Lunch with work friends on Tuesday,
A house full of kids on Wednesday,
Zoo with friends on Thursday,
and swimming with friends yesterday.
This week we have also spent a lot of thoughts, phone calls, planning on the logistic problems to get us from Germany to Sweden. Tried the train... hard to get all baggage with us. Tried the rent-a-car deal... hard to get a one way rental over country borders. Tried the "maybe we should just buy a car when we get there" approach... hmmm the bags will still not fit in the kind of car we would like to buy. So there's no lack of options, it's just hard to figure out which one would cause less hassle...
We still cross our fingers that the whole trip will go as planned and no last minute changes will mess us up again.
So last night, as a relief from stress and too much on my mind I picked up my friend Kelly and we went to the old part of town called Old Colorado City. It's small shops, restaurants, art galleries, physic readers and coffee houses mixed up in a beautiful mixture.
We started off with a Greek Bistro visit, ate Mediterranean Pasta and Moussaka with warm pita bread... yumm!!!! The server was a frantic overly happy eager to please woman that had a wide smile glued to her face every time she came by our table, about once every 3 minutes!
Well, the food was very good anyways!!
We slowly walked down the road until we found this little place
agiasophiacoffeeshop.com
Fresh Coffee - Ancient Wisdom
In the Mission statement you can read the following:
"The very first coffeehouses in the western world were aromatic dens where people met to discuss business, politics and religion. Here at Agia Sophia we want to inspire that same historical coffeehouse culture by offering the very best coffee and specialty teas, along with pastries, desserts and a cafe-style lunch menu to satisfy your physical hunger, while our excellent book selection nourishes your spiritual and intellectual appetite."
It's warm atmosphere, walls covered with books just screaming to be read, it's fantastic vanilla latte was a beautiful combination. My only regret is that I didn't find this place long time before.
So, we're about to leave right at closing time around 10pm. The Father working in the store, dressed in long black robes with a black apron, wearing his long hair in a pony tail and with a long beard, was making pretty obvious signs that it was time to leave. We walk down stairs and I tell the other man working in the store how sorry I was not being able to come back now when I found this great place. I told him I'm leaving for my home country Sweden and he says, wow!! and then he yells out " Father Andreas, come here!!" And he says, "this lady is Swedish!!" The Father then response to me: "TJENARE" = hi there!! in Swedish.
So this priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church is a dude from Sweden, who like me, married an American and moved over here 12 years ago!!!!! Somehow he got interested in the Orthodox faith and the rest is history!!
Believe me, there's not that many Swedish Orthodox people, if any, so just that combination is kind of rare, and then that he happened to be right here in my hometown makes it even more unrealistic!
He recommended me a book to start with, but by reading just the titles of some of the books on the shelves I'll be reading a bunch more!!! We exchanged email and he recommended me to a church and priest in Eskilstuna Sweden in case I wanted some more book tips!
Talking about book tips; growing up in Sweden there was a children's TV program called boktipset where a new kids book was presented every week. when I asked father Andreas about any book he would recommend me to read we started singing the theme song at the same time. Kelly and the other man working at the store looked at us with big questioning eyes and we just started laughing!!
Great ending to a wonderful evening.
Well, now the party is just 2 hours away, I need to start preparing!!!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Fun Days and Bumps in the Road
Still in total disbelief of what happened in Norway last weekend.
Saturday, Syssa turned 8 and we had our good friends Kelly and Devin over for a BBQ with ribs, chicken wings and sausage. I made a new recipe potato salad that I thought turned out really well. Lots of herbs in a vinegar and oil mix. For desert "Brown Cake" = brownies!!! Syssa was happy for her presents, a IPod, some cds, a diary and a DS game.
On Sunday my dear lady friends in our squadron held a ice cream social in my honor. 11 flavors of home made ice cream, custards, frozen yogurts, granitas, and sorbets.
The weirdest by far was the asparagus ice cream that I had suggested, kind of... I asked Kelly the host and maker of all the ice cream if there was going to be any different flavors, like asparagus, and she took the idea and ran with it... One spoonful of the sharp green frozen treat was all I could do, but it was not bad, just very asparagus-ish!!!
My favorite was the basil-lemon granita, and in a tight second place a banana-walnut-rum custard.
Yesterday, Monday I was invited to a friend for a fika with quiche and Syssa came along with me since she has two girls and a niece to play with.
I almost had to cancel the visit, because Dale called right after getting to work with the very frustrated news that his application to get a 5 months extension to his retirement was denied.
This means that he will now finish his work by September, when we have already left for Sweden. It makes it hard for us to make a retirement ceremony and we have to think about taking the house off the market and instead rent it out. It will work out but it made a huge bump in out planned rout for sure.
Today, I will meet with my former work friends for lunch at a restaurant and say goodbye to them. Fun to see them again, but sad with goodbyes...
10 days until we take off...
Saturday, Syssa turned 8 and we had our good friends Kelly and Devin over for a BBQ with ribs, chicken wings and sausage. I made a new recipe potato salad that I thought turned out really well. Lots of herbs in a vinegar and oil mix. For desert "Brown Cake" = brownies!!! Syssa was happy for her presents, a IPod, some cds, a diary and a DS game.
On Sunday my dear lady friends in our squadron held a ice cream social in my honor. 11 flavors of home made ice cream, custards, frozen yogurts, granitas, and sorbets.
The weirdest by far was the asparagus ice cream that I had suggested, kind of... I asked Kelly the host and maker of all the ice cream if there was going to be any different flavors, like asparagus, and she took the idea and ran with it... One spoonful of the sharp green frozen treat was all I could do, but it was not bad, just very asparagus-ish!!!
My favorite was the basil-lemon granita, and in a tight second place a banana-walnut-rum custard.
Yesterday, Monday I was invited to a friend for a fika with quiche and Syssa came along with me since she has two girls and a niece to play with.
I almost had to cancel the visit, because Dale called right after getting to work with the very frustrated news that his application to get a 5 months extension to his retirement was denied.
This means that he will now finish his work by September, when we have already left for Sweden. It makes it hard for us to make a retirement ceremony and we have to think about taking the house off the market and instead rent it out. It will work out but it made a huge bump in out planned rout for sure.
Today, I will meet with my former work friends for lunch at a restaurant and say goodbye to them. Fun to see them again, but sad with goodbyes...
10 days until we take off...
Friday, July 22, 2011
Norway in my heart!
But I know my Scandinavian brothers and sisters will rise and stand strong, build up their capital and together give love and support to the victims and their families.
What sadden me even more is the media and Internet frantic over here. The minute after the news broke, Internet was flooded with hatred and calls for everything from invading Iran to kill every single Muslim.
Not until now, about 8pm MT has the news outlets given out the information that the man suspected to be responsible for the horror and death in Norway actually is Norwegian and not a Muslim but actually a bragging right wing Christian. (Not that I believe he's a Christian more than to the title than I think so called Muslim terrorist actually are Muslim).
So I want to ask you reader, especially if you are an American to
please, help spread the TRUTH in all the Muslim hating rhetoric going on right now on the Internet and in the media. The people responsible for the horrible attacks in Norway were NOT Muslims, they were home grown Norwegian terrorists with a right wing affiliation. Don't help the Muslim hatred and fear spread. Learn the facts and speak up!!!
The man responsible for shooting a bunch of kids at a summer camp, and also setting off the bomb in central Oslo is named Anders Behring Breivik.
His facebook page says he's a conservative Christian He has written postings critical of Muslims and has had connections to right-wing, anti-immigrant groups in Norway.
Now I could turn around and do the same exact thing the Muslim hating fear mongering people on line and in the media have done. But that would not be right to do, because there's no way you can say all right wing Christians are the same, is there?
A hateful, gun loving, conservative Christian? Imagine that?! Either Fox News will be offering him a job, or the Republicans will try to recruit him to run for Congress. He'd sure get a lot of votes in certain districts.
See, doing that would just be mean, hateful and wrong.
Norway, stay strong, we love you!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Happy Birthday Erik!
Erik's first meaningful sound or word was to put his hands up as horns on his head while moaning uuuhhhh... his way of saying deer. His first real word before even saying mamma or pappa, was shuushh... meaning fish.
Today, on his 10th birthday pappa bought him his first shotgun...
Erik had tears in his eyes and not even the sun could compete with the gleam on his face, the shine in his eyes and the brightness in his smile.
I just waived them off, my two men, with shotgun and muzzleloader, earplugs and shades, water and targets for a couple of hours at the shooting range.
I wanted to go with them but I have to see the dentist one last time before we leave for Sweden and go and pick up the kids school records.
Later we're going to eat Chinese buffet on Erik's request. And for tonight we're having a big ice cream fika!
16 days left...
Today, on his 10th birthday pappa bought him his first shotgun...
Erik had tears in his eyes and not even the sun could compete with the gleam on his face, the shine in his eyes and the brightness in his smile.
I just waived them off, my two men, with shotgun and muzzleloader, earplugs and shades, water and targets for a couple of hours at the shooting range.
I wanted to go with them but I have to see the dentist one last time before we leave for Sweden and go and pick up the kids school records.
Later we're going to eat Chinese buffet on Erik's request. And for tonight we're having a big ice cream fika!
16 days left...
Monday, July 18, 2011
Why it's better to take care of bureaucracy in the summer
Today was the day I had planned to get the kids school records to bring with me to their new school. Not that I think it matters if they have their grades with them, in Sweden you don't get any grades until you enter junior high. But still, I want them to have some proof that they've been going to school over here and are eligible to start 4th and 2nd grade.
But the person I talked to could not help me, so I have to come back some other time and talk to an other, hopefully more helpful person.
I've checked in with the "Försäkringskassan", to make sure I have everything I need to get me and the kids registered when I get there.
Försäkringskassan is like the Social Security office, a government agency that makes sure all checks go out when you're sick (80% of your pay), the child allowance (all parents with children get an allowance from the government each month, about $180.00/ child), and the compensation when you stay home with a sick child (97% of your pay I think it is).
I know, Swedes pay about the highest taxes in the world, but they do get a lot for their money!!!
I also learned today that for our family to get a permanent resident status (actually it just applies to Dale and Alyssa since the rest of us are Swedish citizens), we just need their birth certificates and Dale's and my marriage licence. That's it! Wow, that sounds simple enough!
Since it's still summer when I get there I'll take advantage of the summer tempered Swedes and do all bureaucratic stuff right away. The reason? well, my theory is that I think there's two different kind of Swedish people, the summer Swede and the winter Swede.
The summer Swede is nice, bubbly, sweet, helpful and outgoing. Come back a couple of months later and meet the same person in her winter mood and it's a total different person. Grumpy, short tempered, and not willing to speak more than a few words per minute.
The reason, I think, is the sun.
When there's an abundance of sun in the summer then the Swede who is a sun worshipper by birth, is the nicest person you ever met, but in the winter when there's no sun to speak of at all then their sweet personality is hibernating. I'll try to be friendly in mid November, but I can't promise anything...
But the person I talked to could not help me, so I have to come back some other time and talk to an other, hopefully more helpful person.
I've checked in with the "Försäkringskassan", to make sure I have everything I need to get me and the kids registered when I get there.
Försäkringskassan is like the Social Security office, a government agency that makes sure all checks go out when you're sick (80% of your pay), the child allowance (all parents with children get an allowance from the government each month, about $180.00/ child), and the compensation when you stay home with a sick child (97% of your pay I think it is).
I know, Swedes pay about the highest taxes in the world, but they do get a lot for their money!!!
I also learned today that for our family to get a permanent resident status (actually it just applies to Dale and Alyssa since the rest of us are Swedish citizens), we just need their birth certificates and Dale's and my marriage licence. That's it! Wow, that sounds simple enough!
Since it's still summer when I get there I'll take advantage of the summer tempered Swedes and do all bureaucratic stuff right away. The reason? well, my theory is that I think there's two different kind of Swedish people, the summer Swede and the winter Swede.
The summer Swede is nice, bubbly, sweet, helpful and outgoing. Come back a couple of months later and meet the same person in her winter mood and it's a total different person. Grumpy, short tempered, and not willing to speak more than a few words per minute.
The reason, I think, is the sun.
When there's an abundance of sun in the summer then the Swede who is a sun worshipper by birth, is the nicest person you ever met, but in the winter when there's no sun to speak of at all then their sweet personality is hibernating. I'll try to be friendly in mid November, but I can't promise anything...
Sunday, July 17, 2011
To say goodbye
Last night I was listening to Kristina från Duvemåla. It's a musical made from the epic books about people migrating to the new world from Sweden in the late 1800's.
The wife Kristina, hesitated to leave her home and there was so many unknowns waiting her, even though she lost her daughter the last winter in Sweden due to very harsh conditions and lack of food it was still a very hard decision for her leaving it all behind.
She knew, leaving her parents and all her friends meant she would never ever see them again and the only way to communicate would be by letters that could take months to reach it's destination.
I've done the big move before, 11 years ago I left my home and moved over to the US. And I have to say, in just 11 years the moving has become less of a trauma.
It really hurts to leave all our good friends over here, but with Facebook and texting, IM and SKYPE, instant sharing of pictures and thoughts make it seem so much easier.
And considering the long boat ride the people did back in the late 1800's that took around a month, and lots of people died on the way due to sickness and famine, a really uncomfortable 11 hour flight don't seem that bad in comparison.
We are talking about how we should plan everything here the next couple of months, and we say, well, you have to fly back for the retirement, go hunting, go skiing, or to just renew my resident status or what ever the occasion, and it's so effortless.
Costly, sure, but effortless!! Comparing myself with poor Kristina who new when she bordered that ship that would take her across the Atlantic ocean, she would never see her homeland, family, and friends ever again, our move is effortless.
I don't have to worry about never seeing all my friends again, all I have to worry about is to make sure I have every body's phone number plugged in my cell phone so I can text them all...
The wife Kristina, hesitated to leave her home and there was so many unknowns waiting her, even though she lost her daughter the last winter in Sweden due to very harsh conditions and lack of food it was still a very hard decision for her leaving it all behind.
She knew, leaving her parents and all her friends meant she would never ever see them again and the only way to communicate would be by letters that could take months to reach it's destination.
I've done the big move before, 11 years ago I left my home and moved over to the US. And I have to say, in just 11 years the moving has become less of a trauma.
It really hurts to leave all our good friends over here, but with Facebook and texting, IM and SKYPE, instant sharing of pictures and thoughts make it seem so much easier.
And considering the long boat ride the people did back in the late 1800's that took around a month, and lots of people died on the way due to sickness and famine, a really uncomfortable 11 hour flight don't seem that bad in comparison.
We are talking about how we should plan everything here the next couple of months, and we say, well, you have to fly back for the retirement, go hunting, go skiing, or to just renew my resident status or what ever the occasion, and it's so effortless.
Costly, sure, but effortless!! Comparing myself with poor Kristina who new when she bordered that ship that would take her across the Atlantic ocean, she would never see her homeland, family, and friends ever again, our move is effortless.
I don't have to worry about never seeing all my friends again, all I have to worry about is to make sure I have every body's phone number plugged in my cell phone so I can text them all...
Friday, July 15, 2011
“If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles”
With that in mind we have decided to move to Sweden for a while.
In three weeks from now, Erik, Syssa and I are leaving, and in a few months Alyssa, Dale and Lina will join us.
I thought it would be a wonderful time to document how the transition affects the family. How the kids react to a new school system, the new language and environment. For all of us how the differences between the cultures will affect us, how Christmas is going to feel for example. And for me, how being away for 11 years may make me look at things differently.
Right now, I’m concentrating on trying to buy all clothes and shoes we will need for at least a year, because I know for sure, I don’t want to buy clothes there…. it costs a fortune!!!
Next, we have to make sure all papers are in order, fix ID cards for the kids and that the birth certificates and passports are valid.
We found a power converter online that we will buy to make sure we can bring some electronics, like the WII and Xbox for games and also Net Flix. I want to make sure I can watch some of my shows over there! I also want to have a croc pot to prepare dinners in, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in Sweden and they are absolutely wonderful to have during the weeks when I work long hours.
In three weeks from now, Erik, Syssa and I are leaving, and in a few months Alyssa, Dale and Lina will join us.
I thought it would be a wonderful time to document how the transition affects the family. How the kids react to a new school system, the new language and environment. For all of us how the differences between the cultures will affect us, how Christmas is going to feel for example. And for me, how being away for 11 years may make me look at things differently.
Right now, I’m concentrating on trying to buy all clothes and shoes we will need for at least a year, because I know for sure, I don’t want to buy clothes there…. it costs a fortune!!!
Next, we have to make sure all papers are in order, fix ID cards for the kids and that the birth certificates and passports are valid.
We found a power converter online that we will buy to make sure we can bring some electronics, like the WII and Xbox for games and also Net Flix. I want to make sure I can watch some of my shows over there! I also want to have a croc pot to prepare dinners in, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in Sweden and they are absolutely wonderful to have during the weeks when I work long hours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)