Wonderful news! There is an outbreak of impetigo at TWOs dagis. That means that I am now on the lookout for an utslag. An utslag being my Swedish word of the week.
I am a huge fan of literal translations. They make me giggle, they make me examine my own language more and they help me get my head around my third language, Swedish.
Today's word is utslag, or rash for those among us who don't understand Swedish.
Literally translated however, it means out (ut) strike/stroke/hit (slag). I love it for so many reasons. Ut sounds to me like a Scottish person saying out. Slag is funny just as it is. I'm reminded of the Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels movie. I'm reminded of mining, though precisely why that is funny, I've yet to determine.
In any case, out strike/stroke/hit makes a bit of sense when you think about it relation to a rash. You can get an outbreak of pimples, so why not other kinds of skin conditions?
May we all live in hope that TWO manages to avoid this utslag and remains blemish free for the foreseeable future. We've already had scarlet fever and chicken pox in this house, I don't fancy impetigo.
So a challenge to all who read this, insert utslag into your conversations this week, I know I will.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
My new obsession - dyeing wool (or how I made myself some Gox box socks)
I belong to an online mothers group. There are thirty something women who were all due to have babies around the same time, between the 15th and 28th of February 2011. It is through them that I found out how easy it is to dye your own yarn using food colours. It has turned into somewhat of an obsession. No longer do I look at the coloured yarn and think what I can make with it. I look at the natural coloured stuff, or the white and imagine what colour I can make it.
I followed a tutorial that one of the Mums linked me to, you can see it here. I wanted to show you a start to finish version as I do some things different to the methods described there.
First I skein the yarn, which is pretty much just putting it over the back of a kitchen chair and wrapping it around. Or I put it over my knees and wrap it. This is best performed when the wee one (TWO) is not around as she likes to 'help'.
It usually ends up looking something like this :
Then I tie it in different places, making sure that I weave the ties in between the strips of yarn. I generally try and use something that is of a different colour to make sure I can find it again after I've finished.
Then it is soaking time. As per the tutorial, warm/hot water with vinegar in it. I have some crazy strong Swedish vinegar, 24% acetic acid. Normal stuff is about 6% so I add just a little to my warm/hot water and it seems to work. For more specific volumes, see the tutorial there. 30 mins at a minimum, but I often leave if for a long time because I get distracted easily.
There you can see my white yarn having a wee soak.
Once it's nice and soaked, I add it to my dye pot. I add some of the dye to a big pot of water on the stove, with another splash of vinegar for good measure. You need enough water to cover the yarn.
Here is my colour choice, lemon yellow for some bright as all get out socks for the cold and dark Swedish winter.
Lower the yarn in and poke it to get it to be submerged, but no stirring or swirling, that way felting lies.
Here is one place I vary from the tutorial given on the link, I will sometimes just let the yarn sit in the pot overnight without heating. It does work, it just takes time. If you don't have forever and a day, put the stove on a low heat and remember, boiling equals felting, so warm but not boiling is the plan.
I check the yarn every so often, say 15 mins or so, until one of two things happens. 1. All the dye is gone from the water or 2. They yarn looks a little bit darker than I want it to end up.
Then if you have just be leaving it in the pot without heat, time to rinse and enjoy your newly dyed yarn. Or if you have heated it, let it cool down in the pot and then rinse.
Here is my rinsed yellow yarn
I took this yellow yarn, with its variegated colour and knitted myself a pair of short yellow socks. Unfortunately, as seems almost always the case for me, I ran out just before I finished the second sock. So I had to dye some more yarn. It ended up slightly less variegated than the first. Here are my newly knitted YELLOW socks. Ready to keep my cold feet warm this autumn and winter. And not a moment too soon, it was frosty this morning. They would also do well should I encounter a Gox that needs boxing. We have been reading a lot of Dr Seuss of late and every time I see the page about yellow Gox box socks, I think of these beauties.
And that is my story of how I dye yarn. I've done quite a bit, and I intend on sharing the other exploits here soon. But for now, I have to head off and wash said yellow socks along with a banana encrusted jumper that TWO needs in this less that warm weather. Raveled here.
I followed a tutorial that one of the Mums linked me to, you can see it here. I wanted to show you a start to finish version as I do some things different to the methods described there.
First I skein the yarn, which is pretty much just putting it over the back of a kitchen chair and wrapping it around. Or I put it over my knees and wrap it. This is best performed when the wee one (TWO) is not around as she likes to 'help'.
It usually ends up looking something like this :
Then I tie it in different places, making sure that I weave the ties in between the strips of yarn. I generally try and use something that is of a different colour to make sure I can find it again after I've finished.
Then it is soaking time. As per the tutorial, warm/hot water with vinegar in it. I have some crazy strong Swedish vinegar, 24% acetic acid. Normal stuff is about 6% so I add just a little to my warm/hot water and it seems to work. For more specific volumes, see the tutorial there. 30 mins at a minimum, but I often leave if for a long time because I get distracted easily.
There you can see my white yarn having a wee soak.
Once it's nice and soaked, I add it to my dye pot. I add some of the dye to a big pot of water on the stove, with another splash of vinegar for good measure. You need enough water to cover the yarn.
Here is my colour choice, lemon yellow for some bright as all get out socks for the cold and dark Swedish winter.
Lower the yarn in and poke it to get it to be submerged, but no stirring or swirling, that way felting lies.
Here is one place I vary from the tutorial given on the link, I will sometimes just let the yarn sit in the pot overnight without heating. It does work, it just takes time. If you don't have forever and a day, put the stove on a low heat and remember, boiling equals felting, so warm but not boiling is the plan.
I check the yarn every so often, say 15 mins or so, until one of two things happens. 1. All the dye is gone from the water or 2. They yarn looks a little bit darker than I want it to end up.
Then if you have just be leaving it in the pot without heat, time to rinse and enjoy your newly dyed yarn. Or if you have heated it, let it cool down in the pot and then rinse.
Here is my rinsed yellow yarn
I took this yellow yarn, with its variegated colour and knitted myself a pair of short yellow socks. Unfortunately, as seems almost always the case for me, I ran out just before I finished the second sock. So I had to dye some more yarn. It ended up slightly less variegated than the first. Here are my newly knitted YELLOW socks. Ready to keep my cold feet warm this autumn and winter. And not a moment too soon, it was frosty this morning. They would also do well should I encounter a Gox that needs boxing. We have been reading a lot of Dr Seuss of late and every time I see the page about yellow Gox box socks, I think of these beauties.
And that is my story of how I dye yarn. I've done quite a bit, and I intend on sharing the other exploits here soon. But for now, I have to head off and wash said yellow socks along with a banana encrusted jumper that TWO needs in this less that warm weather. Raveled here.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Low FODMAPs Thai Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Since moving to Sweden in 2009, I began to have gastrointestinal issues I'd never had before. I was bloating a lot, having rather unpleasant IBS style attacks at least once a week and I couldn't pinpoint the cause. I tried all manner of things and couldn't manage to work out what it was.
Cut to 2011 and one of the women in my online Mums group in Australia suggested I look into fructose intolerance. She said her husband had it and his symptoms sounded the same as mine. I was rather skeptical, as I felt I had exhausted so many possibilities previously with no reduction in symptoms.
I emailed a dear friend in Tassie who is a hospital dietician/nutritionist and asked her if she had any information about what I should do. She said she didn't know too much about it and sent me what info she did have.
FODMAPs is an acronym that stands for Fermentable Oligo- Di- Mono-saccharides And Polyols (brief wiki summary here). It's effectively sugars that are fermented in the guts of people like myself. The fermentation process means that you get IBS symptoms, like bloating, distension, diarrhea and/or constipation.
Since I started on the low FODMAPs diet, my symptoms have not just improved, they have disappeared. The only time I get a return of symptoms is if I slip up and have too much of any of the FODMAPs.
I have performed a few experiments on myself in this regard and I can tell you that wheat is a total no no, as is honey unfortunately. But the experiments have determined that nothing more terrible than a little extra gas happens as a result of a glass and a half of riesling. So I'm hopeful for a return to very occasional and small quantity wine drinking.
Huzzah!
So I have gone about adapting some of my existing recipes to ones that are FODMAPs friendly and mean that I've got some variation in my diet from my 'safe' meals.
My Mum had a Thai pumpkin soup recipe that I tried out for the first time about 18 months ago. And here is my adjusted FODMAPs friendly version.
1 tablespoon garlic oil**
1 teaspoon sambal oelek
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
2 tablespoon chopped fresh lemon grass
4 cups chicken stock (FODMAPs friendly***)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
The juice of a good juicy lime (original recipe says 3 tsp but I like sour)
1 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
*So while I use butternut squash, being the one pumpkin that is readily available in Sweden. It is a moderate FODMAPs containing food and the portion needs to be limited. However, Jap/Kent/Kabocha pumpkins are considered safe on the app provided by Monash University. So if you can, get one of those.
Cut to 2011 and one of the women in my online Mums group in Australia suggested I look into fructose intolerance. She said her husband had it and his symptoms sounded the same as mine. I was rather skeptical, as I felt I had exhausted so many possibilities previously with no reduction in symptoms.
I emailed a dear friend in Tassie who is a hospital dietician/nutritionist and asked her if she had any information about what I should do. She said she didn't know too much about it and sent me what info she did have.
FODMAPs is an acronym that stands for Fermentable Oligo- Di- Mono-saccharides And Polyols (brief wiki summary here). It's effectively sugars that are fermented in the guts of people like myself. The fermentation process means that you get IBS symptoms, like bloating, distension, diarrhea and/or constipation.
Since I started on the low FODMAPs diet, my symptoms have not just improved, they have disappeared. The only time I get a return of symptoms is if I slip up and have too much of any of the FODMAPs.
I have performed a few experiments on myself in this regard and I can tell you that wheat is a total no no, as is honey unfortunately. But the experiments have determined that nothing more terrible than a little extra gas happens as a result of a glass and a half of riesling. So I'm hopeful for a return to very occasional and small quantity wine drinking.
Huzzah!
So I have gone about adapting some of my existing recipes to ones that are FODMAPs friendly and mean that I've got some variation in my diet from my 'safe' meals.
My Mum had a Thai pumpkin soup recipe that I tried out for the first time about 18 months ago. And here is my adjusted FODMAPs friendly version.
Ingredients:
1 kg pumpkin*, peeled and diced1 tablespoon garlic oil**
1 teaspoon sambal oelek
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
2 tablespoon chopped fresh lemon grass
4 cups chicken stock (FODMAPs friendly***)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
The juice of a good juicy lime (original recipe says 3 tsp but I like sour)
1 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
Method:
- Heat oil in a pan, add sambal oelek, lime leaves and lemon grass.
- Cook on a medium heat until fragrant.
- Add pumpkin, cook stirring 1 minute, or in my case until your stock has defrosted and you can get it out of the tupperware.
- Add stock, fish sauce and lime juice.
- Simmer, covered until pumpkin is just tender.
- Remove lime leaves.
- Blend your delicious cooked pumpkin.
- Add coconut cream and herbs to pumpkin mixture, stir until heated through
- Serve!
If you fancy making this the non-FODMAPs friendly way, add two cloves of crushed garlic at the start with a chopped onion when frying off the sambal oelek, lime leaves and lemon grass.
*So while I use butternut squash, being the one pumpkin that is readily available in Sweden. It is a moderate FODMAPs containing food and the portion needs to be limited. However, Jap/Kent/Kabocha pumpkins are considered safe on the app provided by Monash University. So if you can, get one of those.
**You can get the flavour of garlic without the pain by sauteing a couple of cloves of garlic in your oil of choice for a few minutes and then removing the garlic. I usually make 100-200ml at at time with a good number of cloves to have on hand when I want my oil flavoured. Whatever you do though, don't use fresh garlic and let it infuse in the oil. That way leads to potential botulism and I'd hate to be responsible for that.
***we regularly make a roast chicken and take the opportunity to make a stock with the carcass. The stock is then usually used in our risotto. It is both delicious and friendly to my belly. I will write a FODMAPs stock recipe soon, but suffice to say, it excludes onion and garlic, but doesn't lack in flavour. And the recipe has been blogged.
Monday, September 09, 2013
Socks for a fellow dance enthusiast
My lovely friend, G, is my dance teaching partner. We've been teaching balboa together for about a year now and I think he's hilarious. He's originally from Slovenia and moved to Sweden for love. What I admire about him is his enthusiasm and joy for dance and life. His generosity of spirit is also pretty impressive. He has certainly made an impression on the wee one. She hadn't seen him for a few weeks, but said quite clearly "dancing with G" to me a few days ago.
It was his birthday in November and I hastily attempted to knit him a pair of socks before his birthday party. But I failed. They were nowhere near ready by the time the party came around. He has such big feet. So it was only a month or so ago that I was able to present him with the socks. I think he appreciated them though. What do you think?
I noticed too late that I was running out of the brown/natural coloured wool, so one toe is quite significantly more purple than the other. My theory with these kinds of situations is that it shows that they were hand made.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
acquisitions
I recently acquired a purple cardigan. It was from the 'lost and found' box at my local dancing hall. Everything that had been left behind and not reclaimed in 2011 was left in boxes for people to sort through, find their own stuff, or claim stuff that they wanted. I don't normally wear purple of this hue, or cardigans buttoned up. But I am very much enjoying this one.
In other news, baby type person is growing astoundingly quickly. I am once again blond, having bowed to Swedish peer pressure. I have decided that I don't hate pumpkin anymore, so long as it's not great hunks of it. More to come.
In other news, baby type person is growing astoundingly quickly. I am once again blond, having bowed to Swedish peer pressure. I have decided that I don't hate pumpkin anymore, so long as it's not great hunks of it. More to come.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Of bread
So I was reading over at soozs about baking no knead bread in a dutch oven, cue laughter, and was inspired. I've always enjoyed baking and really wanted to bake some more bread. We have fortunately inherited from some dear friends all of their kitchen wares which include a cast iron pot with lid that is perfect for the task of making this no knead bread. I've made several lots so far and have found it to be delicious and crusty and all things wonderful. Please see below for take 2 of the bread.
We have friends coming for lunch tomorrow who we haven't seen since October last year. They moved to Oxford so that M could study and have only got back recently. I've decided to make a double batch of the dough tonight and see how we go tomorrow. Crossed fingers and toes here that it'll be as tasty as the previous loaves and perhaps even better because there is more of it.
Anyway, I should go and do that starter dough now before it gets much later. I've finished pumping some milk for the wee one, ready to go in the fridge for tomorrow's consumption. So all that is left to do is to get the dough ready, brush my teeth and fall into bed. I live in hope that I will be able to sleep from midnight-ish until 5 or 6am without a break. I very much doubt, however, that this will happen. The small one enjoys a 3.30am feed recently, and if not a feed, certainly enjoys stirring as though she's going to wake properly. She makes just enough noise to make me think she's going to wake fully and get her some food organised, before settling back to sleep. Sneaky monkey.
We have friends coming for lunch tomorrow who we haven't seen since October last year. They moved to Oxford so that M could study and have only got back recently. I've decided to make a double batch of the dough tonight and see how we go tomorrow. Crossed fingers and toes here that it'll be as tasty as the previous loaves and perhaps even better because there is more of it.
Anyway, I should go and do that starter dough now before it gets much later. I've finished pumping some milk for the wee one, ready to go in the fridge for tomorrow's consumption. So all that is left to do is to get the dough ready, brush my teeth and fall into bed. I live in hope that I will be able to sleep from midnight-ish until 5 or 6am without a break. I very much doubt, however, that this will happen. The small one enjoys a 3.30am feed recently, and if not a feed, certainly enjoys stirring as though she's going to wake properly. She makes just enough noise to make me think she's going to wake fully and get her some food organised, before settling back to sleep. Sneaky monkey.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Long time no write
So it's been a long time between posts. I don't even remember what the last thing I wrote was, so I'm just going to start writing whatever I like and those who read this (hi Mum, wise old aunt and husband!) will probably know half if not all of what has been going on in any case.
Today, the smallest one and I went to a friend's house in Mölndal for fika. We were offered rhubarb pie with vanilla sauce, coffee and soda water. It was delightful. It was one of those lovely summer days in Sweden that is much nicer than you could possibly imagine. Something like that anyway. The sun was shining, there were a few clouds in the sky and there was a light breeze. Comfortable to sit in the sun or shade and just relax. Not humid, like previous days this summer have been. Lovely.
We got to meet my friend's newest addition to the family and show off the smallest one to her. The new baby S, has lots of hair and looks like she'll end up a redhead. She mostly slept and ate, but finished up with a giant poo, just as we were leaving. The smallest one was exceptionally well behaved, having a feed, a nappy change, a bit of a play with the newest addition to the family, Sophie the giraffe (see below) and then fell asleep in the sling before we raced off to the bus stop to start the long journey home. We also got to play with E the 2 year old who is currently being toilet trained to greater or lesser success. She had an accident on the deck and spent the rest of the visit underpantsless telling us about her trip to the park recently.
No crafty adventures to speak of here at the moment, apart from a half finished sock for a friend and some facewashers that I knitted for a new baby, but failed to photograph. Will try and post more regularly here, if only for my own records of the smallest one's achievements and development.
Skill that is currently favoured by her is grabbing her feet and sucking on her right big toe. I am reminded of Fergie every time she does it. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Today, the smallest one and I went to a friend's house in Mölndal for fika. We were offered rhubarb pie with vanilla sauce, coffee and soda water. It was delightful. It was one of those lovely summer days in Sweden that is much nicer than you could possibly imagine. Something like that anyway. The sun was shining, there were a few clouds in the sky and there was a light breeze. Comfortable to sit in the sun or shade and just relax. Not humid, like previous days this summer have been. Lovely.
We got to meet my friend's newest addition to the family and show off the smallest one to her. The new baby S, has lots of hair and looks like she'll end up a redhead. She mostly slept and ate, but finished up with a giant poo, just as we were leaving. The smallest one was exceptionally well behaved, having a feed, a nappy change, a bit of a play with the newest addition to the family, Sophie the giraffe (see below) and then fell asleep in the sling before we raced off to the bus stop to start the long journey home. We also got to play with E the 2 year old who is currently being toilet trained to greater or lesser success. She had an accident on the deck and spent the rest of the visit underpantsless telling us about her trip to the park recently.
No crafty adventures to speak of here at the moment, apart from a half finished sock for a friend and some facewashers that I knitted for a new baby, but failed to photograph. Will try and post more regularly here, if only for my own records of the smallest one's achievements and development.
Skill that is currently favoured by her is grabbing her feet and sucking on her right big toe. I am reminded of Fergie every time she does it. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Friday, June 11, 2010
news and happenings in the world of Kate part 1
So, I haven't posted on here for about a million years. Life gets in the way of blogging. Life and facenerd. I think I spend so much of my time on telling people what I've been doing there that I forget about the good old blog.
In recent news, I have turned 30, found out that my PhD thesis sat in Canberra in an office for 4 months instead of being sent to my examiners, moved apartment and started to appreciate the Swedish summer with all the light that it brings.
For my 30th birthday the boy and I travelled to Oslo to celebrate. Much the same as we did the year before. We stayed in a lovely hotel, walking distance from the center of town. I was suffering from terrible hayfever that I believed was actually a head cold, so much of the trip was spent sleeping. I find hayfever absolutely exhausting for some reason. Pollen is evil and should be banned.
But the good thing about all the pollen I guess, is that it means that the flowers are blossoming and spring/summer is here. It's outrageously beautiful and transformative in a way that Australian spring cannot compete with. The total difference from winter is apparent as within two weeks the entire outside world transforms from brown and grey to GREEN! Flowers start appearing everywhere and the Swedes start emerging from hibernation. More about that in a bit.
So we visited our favourite frognerparken on my birthday, went to see the Munch museum where one of my favourite paintings was one of Nietzche. I tried posting linkage and/or the image and failed miserably, so if you are interested, google image search works pretty well.
My family called on my birthday and I got to chat with them for a little while.
We went out for dinner both the night before and the night of my birthday. The first night was at a Bahranian restaurant for a friend of the boy's birthday. Once it got past midnight I got a piece of birthday cake with a rocket sparkler in it and an Arabic version of Happy Birthday played over the loudspeakers. The food was pretty tasty, but as with everything in Norway, expensive.
The next night we decided to do something relatively cheap and go out for some Thai food. We looked up the closest restaurant to our hotel and decided to walk there. We ended up getting lost, but found the strangest Thai restaurant ever. It was in the basement of a building and was decked out as though you were in a beach bar in Thailand. There were UV lights everywhere and the tables were made out of bamboo. Halfway through our dinner there was a 'thunderstorm' with flashing lights and a soundtrack of tropical rain. It was hilarious. This combined with our Swedish waiter, complete with Swedish moustache as sported by the guy in the front of this photo. This stype of moustache is all the rage here in the Swedens and is found on many of the young hipsters. The boy has dubbed it the Swedish moustache and keeps on threatening to grow one. The waiter also had the large 80s glasses that are also quite popular, see here. So in any case, it was a lovely evening and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
After my birthday, the 'cold' that I had meant that I spent most of Sunday asleep. But it was nice to get a rest and know that I had nothing I 'had' to do.
The next day was Norway's national day and we made our way into town to watch the parade and check out the royal family waving from the balcony. I will post some photos soon to show all the cuteness of the kiddies dressed up and all the national costumes. We then decided to have lunch with a friend of the boy's and played Rock Band on the Xbox. I had a thoroughly good time playing 'drums' and listening to the Norwegian, which is like Swedish only different. The Swedes always say that the Norwegians always sound happy when they speak. I'm not 100% sure I agree, but I became aware of how much Swedish I understood when I was in Norway and suddenly couldn't follow the conversation as easily.
Anyway, it was a pretty good trip and I enjoyed myself. It's now getting kinda late and I have to be up at some undogly hour to go to Stockholm, so I'm off to finish my washing and pack for tomorrow.
In recent news, I have turned 30, found out that my PhD thesis sat in Canberra in an office for 4 months instead of being sent to my examiners, moved apartment and started to appreciate the Swedish summer with all the light that it brings.
For my 30th birthday the boy and I travelled to Oslo to celebrate. Much the same as we did the year before. We stayed in a lovely hotel, walking distance from the center of town. I was suffering from terrible hayfever that I believed was actually a head cold, so much of the trip was spent sleeping. I find hayfever absolutely exhausting for some reason. Pollen is evil and should be banned.
But the good thing about all the pollen I guess, is that it means that the flowers are blossoming and spring/summer is here. It's outrageously beautiful and transformative in a way that Australian spring cannot compete with. The total difference from winter is apparent as within two weeks the entire outside world transforms from brown and grey to GREEN! Flowers start appearing everywhere and the Swedes start emerging from hibernation. More about that in a bit.
So we visited our favourite frognerparken on my birthday, went to see the Munch museum where one of my favourite paintings was one of Nietzche. I tried posting linkage and/or the image and failed miserably, so if you are interested, google image search works pretty well.
My family called on my birthday and I got to chat with them for a little while.
We went out for dinner both the night before and the night of my birthday. The first night was at a Bahranian restaurant for a friend of the boy's birthday. Once it got past midnight I got a piece of birthday cake with a rocket sparkler in it and an Arabic version of Happy Birthday played over the loudspeakers. The food was pretty tasty, but as with everything in Norway, expensive.
The next night we decided to do something relatively cheap and go out for some Thai food. We looked up the closest restaurant to our hotel and decided to walk there. We ended up getting lost, but found the strangest Thai restaurant ever. It was in the basement of a building and was decked out as though you were in a beach bar in Thailand. There were UV lights everywhere and the tables were made out of bamboo. Halfway through our dinner there was a 'thunderstorm' with flashing lights and a soundtrack of tropical rain. It was hilarious. This combined with our Swedish waiter, complete with Swedish moustache as sported by the guy in the front of this photo. This stype of moustache is all the rage here in the Swedens and is found on many of the young hipsters. The boy has dubbed it the Swedish moustache and keeps on threatening to grow one. The waiter also had the large 80s glasses that are also quite popular, see here. So in any case, it was a lovely evening and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
After my birthday, the 'cold' that I had meant that I spent most of Sunday asleep. But it was nice to get a rest and know that I had nothing I 'had' to do.
The next day was Norway's national day and we made our way into town to watch the parade and check out the royal family waving from the balcony. I will post some photos soon to show all the cuteness of the kiddies dressed up and all the national costumes. We then decided to have lunch with a friend of the boy's and played Rock Band on the Xbox. I had a thoroughly good time playing 'drums' and listening to the Norwegian, which is like Swedish only different. The Swedes always say that the Norwegians always sound happy when they speak. I'm not 100% sure I agree, but I became aware of how much Swedish I understood when I was in Norway and suddenly couldn't follow the conversation as easily.
Anyway, it was a pretty good trip and I enjoyed myself. It's now getting kinda late and I have to be up at some undogly hour to go to Stockholm, so I'm off to finish my washing and pack for tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Winter versions of those trees
So as promised, here are the photos of some of those trees from yesterday as they are seen now. They are sans leaves and occasionally with snow in the branches. I also tried to get a photo of what the snow looks like when it's been sitting there for a while. It looks like leaves or feathers sticking up. Very pretty. But I don't think that my photo really did it justice, will have to play around with the conditions.
So heres the tree outside the lunch place
And here's the tree outside my window
And here's my attempt to capture the snow from this morning
Perhaps this afternoon will be a discussion of mores stuff from Xmas and hopefully some more photos.
So heres the tree outside the lunch place
And here's the tree outside my window
And here's my attempt to capture the snow from this morning
Perhaps this afternoon will be a discussion of mores stuff from Xmas and hopefully some more photos.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
obvious season changes
It's a cold winter here this year. The temperature hasn't been over 0 for a very long time. I'm not sure I can remember when it was last above zero. Maybe sometime before the new year. In any case, now that we are heading towards spring, I have started to notice the days starting the lengthen. 3 weeks ago it would have been fully dark now, 4.45pm. But looking out of my office window (praise be to the spaghetti monster that we've moved out of the basement) I can see a vague little remnant of red on the horizon. This would have been unheard of back before NYE. It was dark at 3.30pm.
The other thing I've noticed is the changing of trees and plants. I have some photos of trees around my work this autumn. I'm going to take some photos tomorrow when there is some sun to show you the snow that is currently blanketing everything.
So here are the autumn photos. Let's see if I can be organised enough to get up the winter ones soon.
Here is a tree that is across the road from our flat. This photo was taken from our kitchen window.
And here is a tree at work.
And the last one, outside my favourite lunch place.
I think they are so pretty. It was sad when all the leaves went away.
The other thing I've noticed is the changing of trees and plants. I have some photos of trees around my work this autumn. I'm going to take some photos tomorrow when there is some sun to show you the snow that is currently blanketing everything.
So here are the autumn photos. Let's see if I can be organised enough to get up the winter ones soon.
Here is a tree that is across the road from our flat. This photo was taken from our kitchen window.
And here is a tree at work.
And the last one, outside my favourite lunch place.
I think they are so pretty. It was sad when all the leaves went away.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Good continuation!
So here in the Swedens, they say (translated of course) good continuation either between Christmas and New Years Eve or in the new year. I guess it's supposed to be an hope that the new year will be as good as the old, or better or something good in any case.
I was at the doctors on Monday talking about gut issues and results from my gastroscopy, all normal you'll be glad to hear, and he asked about what we say in English at this time. I honestly couldn't think of anything. In fact, it's now getting to the point that even if we did say something at this time of year, I wouldn't remember it. My english skills have fallen by the wayside. I can't remember simple words like cash register.
So, to the news of the post. Today I was a consumer whore (and how!). Those who have watched the cartoon rejected will get that reference. In any case, I am in the position that all my items of considerable worth are all kinda dying at the same time. My black knee high boots that I've had since January 2004 have repeatedly had the heels peel off and have a hole in the sole. They also are all worn in a number of places. They need replacing, desperately. My coat, which is even older, possibly dating back to 2001 or 2002. It's getting thin and it's definitely not windproof. My laptop is dying in stages and will eventually crap itself and die properly. Finally, my ipod is no longer stereo and because it's got a harddisk in it, it means that when I'm running, it's probably not doing the ipod any favours.
So today I solved two of those problems, the coat and the ipod. My new coat is superb. It's about -10 outside at the moment and I went outside wearing normal clothes with no jumper, just a t-shirt under this enormous down jacket. I was toasty warm. In fact, if I had had a jumper on, I probably would have been roasting. It's fabulous. It's from peak performance, which is apparently a swedish company. It has masses of pockets, a hood and feels like I'm wearing a doona around. I've only had it a few hours and I love it beyond all measure.
The second problem I solved was the ipod. I'm now in possession of a pink nano and an armband to wear it while running. I will be testing out the running capabilities tomorrow or possibly Friday. I've just found out the gym is closed tomorrow and due to all the ice on the ground, running outside isn't really an option.
I'm trying to think of news to tell the interwebs. My brother and his friend Wombat came to stay with us for Christmas this year. We had them here from the 18th until last Sunday. We had some amazing weather while they were here. It snowed, a lot. And it was really cold and relatively clear for most of the time they were here. The three of us (the boy doesn't like the series in question) watched all of the Green Wing on the projector and a good amount of other TV shows and movies. We baked pepparkakor and the boys decided to make them a little rude. There were many penises and animals humping one another.
See here for an example :
I was at the doctors on Monday talking about gut issues and results from my gastroscopy, all normal you'll be glad to hear, and he asked about what we say in English at this time. I honestly couldn't think of anything. In fact, it's now getting to the point that even if we did say something at this time of year, I wouldn't remember it. My english skills have fallen by the wayside. I can't remember simple words like cash register.
So, to the news of the post. Today I was a consumer whore (and how!). Those who have watched the cartoon rejected will get that reference. In any case, I am in the position that all my items of considerable worth are all kinda dying at the same time. My black knee high boots that I've had since January 2004 have repeatedly had the heels peel off and have a hole in the sole. They also are all worn in a number of places. They need replacing, desperately. My coat, which is even older, possibly dating back to 2001 or 2002. It's getting thin and it's definitely not windproof. My laptop is dying in stages and will eventually crap itself and die properly. Finally, my ipod is no longer stereo and because it's got a harddisk in it, it means that when I'm running, it's probably not doing the ipod any favours.
So today I solved two of those problems, the coat and the ipod. My new coat is superb. It's about -10 outside at the moment and I went outside wearing normal clothes with no jumper, just a t-shirt under this enormous down jacket. I was toasty warm. In fact, if I had had a jumper on, I probably would have been roasting. It's fabulous. It's from peak performance, which is apparently a swedish company. It has masses of pockets, a hood and feels like I'm wearing a doona around. I've only had it a few hours and I love it beyond all measure.
The second problem I solved was the ipod. I'm now in possession of a pink nano and an armband to wear it while running. I will be testing out the running capabilities tomorrow or possibly Friday. I've just found out the gym is closed tomorrow and due to all the ice on the ground, running outside isn't really an option.
I'm trying to think of news to tell the interwebs. My brother and his friend Wombat came to stay with us for Christmas this year. We had them here from the 18th until last Sunday. We had some amazing weather while they were here. It snowed, a lot. And it was really cold and relatively clear for most of the time they were here. The three of us (the boy doesn't like the series in question) watched all of the Green Wing on the projector and a good amount of other TV shows and movies. We baked pepparkakor and the boys decided to make them a little rude. There were many penises and animals humping one another.
See here for an example :
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Odd things that happen when in Sweden
Today I was in the supermarket getting myself a lussekatt and the woman behind me has a very old phone with 'polyphonic ring tones'. Her phone rings, it plays Walzing Matilda. She is definitely not Australian. Weird.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
While I'm on a roll
Updating a-go-go for me tonight. I'm proud to announce that my PhD thesis has about three lines that are required to be added to it and then it's ready to be printed and then bound. I've even written my abstract and acknowledgments. I just need to work out exactly where to get the printing and binding done. There is a place I've found that should be able to do it, but I have to make sure that my three-colour label figures show up okay. I have some worries about them. I think that sometimes adjustments made on a computer screen quite often end up looking different on the printed page. I'm worried they'll end up looking too bright, too overexposed. If they do it'll mean quite a bit of reworking for me, but it will be worth it. I really look forward to being able to look at the final book. Then it might actually feel real that I might one day be officially allowed to do the job I've been doing for the last 7 months.
Observation
I am a social person. I am a social person and I don't like to live alone. The boy is in southern Sweden for some work thing from yesterday until Saturday afternoon/evening. While I'm not feeling 100% what with having gut problems and my period at the moment, I'm still usually fine to go out dancing etc in the evenings. Last night and tonight I decided to stay home. I don't know why I can go out dancing late into the night when he's at home but when he's gone I don't want to go out. That's my observation for tonight.
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Health Report
You would think with a title like the health report that I'm going to tell you of being ill and my recovery. But no, this post is about the health report from Radio National. I listen to this podcast every week. I've just downloaded it and am putting it on my ipod to listen to while I work on my flies. And I've come to the realisation, I have a massive voice crush on Dr Norman Swan. I could listen to that man for hours. This is not a new thing, I've loved listening to the health report for ages, but today I realised that I was actually excited to listen to Norman. Oh dear.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
long time no write
I'm sitting in my office, there's no-one else here. I'm listening to NPR's fresh air on my ipod and contemplating work. I'd like to have a fabulous reason to not have written in my blog for a while, but it all sounds kinda lazy. I was busy, on holiday, sick and out of time. But I'm going to endeavour to write more.
Brief update: went to a wedding in Germany, was rather fun. Went hiking in the Bavarian Alps, to Berlin, had my parents visiting my house, went to London for a blues dancing weekend, came home and caught my husband's cold.
I'm just back at work after almost a week off for illness. Bah! But in good news, I'm feeling like I'm at the tail end of it and will be fighting fit by the weekend.
More writing and photos to come, I hope.
Brief update: went to a wedding in Germany, was rather fun. Went hiking in the Bavarian Alps, to Berlin, had my parents visiting my house, went to London for a blues dancing weekend, came home and caught my husband's cold.
I'm just back at work after almost a week off for illness. Bah! But in good news, I'm feeling like I'm at the tail end of it and will be fighting fit by the weekend.
More writing and photos to come, I hope.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Spoke too soon
I spoke too soon. I'm not really at home in Sweden.
Today I tried to see a doctor about my bloated belly. It's been huge and uncomfortable and I've been feeling like I need to burp all the time, but not being able to burp. So I went to the local health center and was told that I could see a nurse at 10.10am. While I was waiting to see the nurse I went and sat in a garden and read my book. While I was sitting, I had a seagull shit on my bag, my ipod and just missed my leg because I moved out of the way. I got a coffee at a cafe and the guy there helped me clean up my stuff. The coffee was nice and he even gave me a complimentary biscuit because my day had been so crap. This was the highlight of my entire day.
I went back to the health center and somehow the nurse managed to miss me. I was told I could wait. I waited for another half an hour before they told me that it'd take too long to wait and I should go to the acute/emergency center that I'd been to before. I did that and waited another hour to see a doctor who was able to tell me that while he could understand there was something wrong, that center didn't send you away for any tests or anything. They were just an acute center. So that was 200SEK down the drain. He was very understanding though.
So finally, the nurse from the other place called me up and asked what was wrong. She called at 2.30pm. I explained the situation and she got me in to see a doctor tomorrow at 11.30am. So, it took me from 8.30am to 2.30pm to get a doctors appointment for tomorrow morning.
This whole thing reminded me that I don't know the swedish system and frustrated me endlessly. I'm sick of feeling constantly like I need to burp. I'm sick of starting the day looking relatively normal and by the end of the day looking like I'm 5 months pregnant. I'm sick of worrying that everything I eat is going to provoke more bloating. The only upside of it is that I have managed to pretty well establish that lactose probably isn't the cause (I've excluded it for over a week).
But the good news for today is that is delightfully sunny outside, the sun is warm and friendly and the sky is clear, there are birds singing and I'm going to be able to go for a walk in the sunshine and relax a bit. And truth be told, I'm probably okay with Sweden, today was just a bit of a trial.
Today I tried to see a doctor about my bloated belly. It's been huge and uncomfortable and I've been feeling like I need to burp all the time, but not being able to burp. So I went to the local health center and was told that I could see a nurse at 10.10am. While I was waiting to see the nurse I went and sat in a garden and read my book. While I was sitting, I had a seagull shit on my bag, my ipod and just missed my leg because I moved out of the way. I got a coffee at a cafe and the guy there helped me clean up my stuff. The coffee was nice and he even gave me a complimentary biscuit because my day had been so crap. This was the highlight of my entire day.
I went back to the health center and somehow the nurse managed to miss me. I was told I could wait. I waited for another half an hour before they told me that it'd take too long to wait and I should go to the acute/emergency center that I'd been to before. I did that and waited another hour to see a doctor who was able to tell me that while he could understand there was something wrong, that center didn't send you away for any tests or anything. They were just an acute center. So that was 200SEK down the drain. He was very understanding though.
So finally, the nurse from the other place called me up and asked what was wrong. She called at 2.30pm. I explained the situation and she got me in to see a doctor tomorrow at 11.30am. So, it took me from 8.30am to 2.30pm to get a doctors appointment for tomorrow morning.
This whole thing reminded me that I don't know the swedish system and frustrated me endlessly. I'm sick of feeling constantly like I need to burp. I'm sick of starting the day looking relatively normal and by the end of the day looking like I'm 5 months pregnant. I'm sick of worrying that everything I eat is going to provoke more bloating. The only upside of it is that I have managed to pretty well establish that lactose probably isn't the cause (I've excluded it for over a week).
But the good news for today is that is delightfully sunny outside, the sun is warm and friendly and the sky is clear, there are birds singing and I'm going to be able to go for a walk in the sunshine and relax a bit. And truth be told, I'm probably okay with Sweden, today was just a bit of a trial.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Oh so many things
You will be pleased to know, if you were following the continued saga of my lactose intolerance that my gut is somewhat back to normal today. Certainly the shirt I am wearing today (a new one from Lindex) which didn't fit over the weekend is now doing up nicely and I'm not feeling quite as big.
I have a number of things that I wanted to talk about here. The most pressing in my mind was that I have come to realise that I'm actually settled in here in Sweden. I was thinking last night as I left dancing, walked home and got ready for bed, I have friends. I have a number of people that I have met that I really like and enjoy talking to. Thinking back to just 3.5 months ago when we first arrived I was really worried about doing just that, making friends. I was homesick for a place where I knew people and they knew me. I didn't want to have to make new friends and make all that effort to get to know people. But it's happened. I don't have any best friends yet, but I do have some people who have that potential.
Truth is, while it was super hard in the first few weeks of settling in, it has become so much easier. I don't know why I worried about it that much. I think I am possibly one of the most social people I know. But I was missing having people I already knew and didn't have to play the get to know you game with. But anywhoodle, it struck me on the way home etc, I have managed to integrate myself a little into Swedish society. I feel kinda at home here. I put the kinda in there because there are times and things that happen that make it abundantly clear that I'll probably never be completely at home here.
Other things that have been cogitating in my noggin will have to wait for a little bit, I have to do some kind of work today.
I have a number of things that I wanted to talk about here. The most pressing in my mind was that I have come to realise that I'm actually settled in here in Sweden. I was thinking last night as I left dancing, walked home and got ready for bed, I have friends. I have a number of people that I have met that I really like and enjoy talking to. Thinking back to just 3.5 months ago when we first arrived I was really worried about doing just that, making friends. I was homesick for a place where I knew people and they knew me. I didn't want to have to make new friends and make all that effort to get to know people. But it's happened. I don't have any best friends yet, but I do have some people who have that potential.
Truth is, while it was super hard in the first few weeks of settling in, it has become so much easier. I don't know why I worried about it that much. I think I am possibly one of the most social people I know. But I was missing having people I already knew and didn't have to play the get to know you game with. But anywhoodle, it struck me on the way home etc, I have managed to integrate myself a little into Swedish society. I feel kinda at home here. I put the kinda in there because there are times and things that happen that make it abundantly clear that I'll probably never be completely at home here.
Other things that have been cogitating in my noggin will have to wait for a little bit, I have to do some kind of work today.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
more information than you'll probably want
I should probably state upfront, if you don't want to hear about ladyparts, don't read on.
I had a PAP smear this morning. This is partly due to me gaining a personal number here in Sweden. About a week after my personal number was granted and I existed as a person in Sweden I got a letter. This letter stated that I was due for a PAP smear and should present myself at the appropriate clinic at 8.30am this morning. I guess that on becoming a person who really exists they all of sudden have a need to look at your genitals, or something like that.
I turned up on time and although I had an appointment time, I had to take a number. B this I mean a number like you take at the deli counter of a supermarket in Australia, so they know which order to call you in. Taking a number is an important part of Swedish culture, I am sure. When I signed up for SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) I had to take a number to talk to someone so I could get another number to actually enroll. But onto the cervix story. I took a number and waited. The lovely nurse Annika came and collected me. I got to have my legs in stirrups for the very first time, all very exciting!
The one thing that I want to note in this post is the following, it was not at all uncomfortable. I've had real problems with PAP smears in the past, all kinds of semi painful scrapings of my cervix. But today, I barely noticed it at all.
Huzzah for Swedish healthcare! Please return to your normal life, I've got experiments to do.
I had a PAP smear this morning. This is partly due to me gaining a personal number here in Sweden. About a week after my personal number was granted and I existed as a person in Sweden I got a letter. This letter stated that I was due for a PAP smear and should present myself at the appropriate clinic at 8.30am this morning. I guess that on becoming a person who really exists they all of sudden have a need to look at your genitals, or something like that.
I turned up on time and although I had an appointment time, I had to take a number. B this I mean a number like you take at the deli counter of a supermarket in Australia, so they know which order to call you in. Taking a number is an important part of Swedish culture, I am sure. When I signed up for SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) I had to take a number to talk to someone so I could get another number to actually enroll. But onto the cervix story. I took a number and waited. The lovely nurse Annika came and collected me. I got to have my legs in stirrups for the very first time, all very exciting!
The one thing that I want to note in this post is the following, it was not at all uncomfortable. I've had real problems with PAP smears in the past, all kinds of semi painful scrapings of my cervix. But today, I barely noticed it at all.
Huzzah for Swedish healthcare! Please return to your normal life, I've got experiments to do.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Guess where I'm going in three weeks
So, I hope that you can see that that is a lovely beach and is a small hint. The boy and I are going to Tuscany for a wedding, huzzah! We booked the hotel, flights and other stuff this afternoon and I'm terribly excited. 4 days and 5 nights of relaxation in a Tuscan village, a wedding of a good friend and hopefully some of his (the good friend's) mother's cooking.
Don't you just hate me?
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