Flea Market Finds

Continuing in my title theme of alliteration...
Every Wednesday, rain or shine, summer or winter, there is a place nestled in the foothills of the mountains where people come to find treasures, to sell junk, to haggle a price, and to chew the fat. It's name is the Pickens Flea Market, and it is one of my favorite destinations to travel to when I'm home. If my European friends ever come visiting (and you are ALL welcome) this is one of those unique cultural oases of the South that must be included in the itinerary.

There are rules to the market...unspoken, learned-over-time rules. Don't bother with the table where the vendor knows the value of their antiques. Always ask a lower price, and act pained and poor if they seem like they won't budge from 5 dollars to 4. Find that table where a woman just cleaned out her grandmother's house and is simply trying to get rid of things. Go early....at first light.

Well, now to the part you've all been waiting for...the report. This Wednesday I found a beautiful sterling silver, turquoise bracelet which I immediately fell in love with. It was $25. Hardly dirt cheap, but a deal for the quality of the piece, and when I realized that I made exactly $25 mowing my neighbor's grass last Saturday, the purchase was easily justified.

Also found were 2 ginger jars (orignally named for Chinese jars used to hold ginger) which will make nice vases for cut flowers. ($6 for the pair) A glass lemon juicer ($2). A gorgeous vintage linen table cloth, perfect for a small 2 person table, and 3 thin cotton/linen handkercheifs which will function as cloth napkins in my future life, when I actually have a home in which to put all these things ! (oh, and the total for the linens was $4).

South Carolina scenes

From an evening bike ride...

And from a back porch fika. We seem to live out there these days. This is my little sister Caroline, who has grown up SO much since I've been gone. I feel I'm living the life of luxury just getting to spend so much precious time with my parents and 3 younger siblings who are living at home. We knit, we read, we visit, we make music, enjoy good food, and study the Bible together. And we TALK....my southern accent is coming back quickly. The word "y'all" has been resurrected at least.

spring knitting

I used to think that knitting in the spring and summer months was unappealing. How could you have a skein of wool sitting on your lap on a hot summer's day, concentrating your energy on a big cozy shawl that you can't wear for another few months? Since February I've been working on a lace shawl ....which I'm loving and enjoying, but this warm SC weather is not motivating me towards finishing it. Instead what came to my mind is this beautiful summery knitted top I noticed way back last winter and have had a subconscious desire to knit ever since. So last week I promptly ordered the yarn (color name of sprout green...how could I resist buying that?), had my sister Becca copy and mail me the pattern since it's from a book she owns, and today as soon as my yarn arrived in the mail I started on it! Ooh, new projects are the best. Let me tell you about this one. The yarn is 70% cotton, 30% linen. The bottom half of the top is lace work, then a simple stockinette stitch, with a flattering neckline and small cap sleeves. Mmm....sounds like a perfect match for a pair of cropped linen pants. Sounds like one of those tops I'll reserve for wearing when I work at the farmer's markets on Saturdays this sumer. Check out this lady's amazing version if you want to drool. If mine turns out half as beautiful as hers I will be pleased.

Also I want to say a big HEJ! to any of you readers in Sweden. Christina, Carola, Nina, Eva-Britt, Birgitta...jag vet inte vem läsa, men jag hoppas ni alla ha det jättebra i den vackra svenska vår. Jag kan tänka mig att alla Svenskarna säger nu,"visst är det härligt med vår!"Here is a picture of a little touch of Sweden which my mother has on her kitchen table...it's so nice to walk by it every day and think of my 2nd home!

"the old and local must survive"

Well I hope you readers are interested in gardening, because I can sense an overkill of gardening posts coming soon. I can't help it! It's spring and that's what is on my to-do-list and in my thoughts. Mom and I took a trip to the cutest, not entirely organically-minded, but oh-so local seed store on Monday. There's one counter for paying and one that's just for picking out seeds, where behind the counter lie 50 big metal barrels filled with seeds, and on the counter lies an old timey scale. You say what you want, the sun-burned man uses an old metal scoop to fill a simple paper bag, weighs it, and writes 25, 50 cents, or at the most $1 on it. You chat gardening with the overalled, base-ball cap wearing employee, who himself has 40 acres of land. Trucks grace the parking lot, and there's a sign "chicks for sale" out front. Sometimes these old buildings and local stores are too rare in the US, but sometimes they're right around the corner, in fact they've been there for 60 years, you just have to notice.

spring forward

I woke up at 5:30 am. My body is 6 hours ahead and it thought it was lunch time so i woke up with a growling tummy. It was dark. Much darker than Sweden is this time of year. After tiptoeing around the house like a mouse for awhile, the sun started to rise. I went outside right away, eager to notice the springtime which i was unable to see at 9 pm last night when i arrived home. I was overwhelmed and struck with awe at the bright, new green everywhere. And mom's herb garden...chives, chamomile, oregano, thyme, fennel, dill, lavender, sage, cilantro, lemon balm, scallions, and lettuce. SO BIG ALREADY. 2 days ago I was in the land of no leaves. Today I was in 75 degrees (that's 24 for my celsius readers), SC in April heaven.

saying goodbye

Tomorrow at 1 pm I leave Sweden. It's been almost 2 years of adventures in Uppsala. Of getting to know a culture and language and people. Of experiencing 4 seasons of stark contrast....those long, light summer nights, a winter spent in darkness, and a spring where each blooming flower is a miracle. Of cross-country skiing, ice-skating on the lake, and walks in the snow. Of meeting people who I will never forget...including this special 4 year old who I will sorely miss. Home awaits. 5 siblings await plus 2 wonderful parents and many dear friends. Music will be played, dances will be danced, conversations will be shared, gardens will be planted.
Goodbye to everyone who has meant so much to me in Sweden, and to those in America who count me as a friend, I look forward to being with you soon!

Suomi (or Finland)

Last Friday I rode on a big boat from the Stockholm archipelago to Helsinki, a 15 hour trip in which one pays for a bed in a cabin and wakes up the next morning in another country. I knew Finland would look similar to Sweden in landscape and climate, so I was looking forward to noticing the differences between the 2 Scandinavian neighbors. The main reason for the trip, however, was to visit my dear friend Sofia, who is half-Finnish and completing her masters degree in Helsinki. It was a beautiful weekend of deep conversations and giggles, observing a totally unique, incredibly difficult language all around me, and trying the simple food special to this recently very poor country.
Finnish is a language in which most people, except maybe Hungarians, cannot even make an attempt at guessing what a word means. In the picture I'm displaying the utter incomprehensibility of this sign which probably says "Keep off the grass."




The biggest tourist attraction in the capital is the stone church, carved from a rock and beautiful in it's natural simplicity.








Sofia lives a walk away from the sea. It was a foggy, cold day, but the sea is always refreshing. Traveling on the train from her apartment on the day I left, I noticed people jumping into the half-frozen lake in their bathing suits. And then 50 ft. from the water's edge I spotted the little cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney....yes, the sauna. (A Finnish word which English has borrowed) This invigorating activity is much loved by Finns.And one mustn't forget this special Easter treat. It's made of rye flour, malt, and a bit of molasses-type syrup. I cannot imagine such a humble dessert being eaten where I am from, where our sweets have names like "oooey gooey brownie pudding" and have at least 2 cups of sugar in them.

the stuff of weekends

(the inside of a school playground shed)


On Fridays I travel to different schools to give extra English lessons to children who have at least one English-speaking parent. I normally take the bus to to get to "Gamla Uppsala Skola," but on Friday you couldn't have paid me $100 to ride the bus. The sun was shining and I was in knickers and a shirt with no sleeves. bliss. I rode my bike way out of town (a good 45 min) to teach my final time to dear 8yr-old Eira Mooney, whose Irish father has given her an adorable accent. She spent the last 15 min. of class drawing an Easter egg for me as a going-away-present. :) On the bike ride home I took the long way past the viking burial mounds. On Sunday afternoon I enjoyed some reading in my hammock in my "new favorite" forest spot. I'm always finding a new favorite. One which somehow rises up above the rest and distinguishes itself from the other 1 million mossy, tall pine spots. And in case you're thinking geez, what a life of luxury and free time! I realize that right now is a special time in my life...if in my future I become a wife and mother these quiet moments of free time and thinking will be less frequent, i know. And I look forward to that time, sometimes too much, at the risk of wishing away the present. But mostly I feel content, and thankful for the freedom and opportunities present in the place in life I am at now. My weekends more often than not include some yeast, some kneading, and some flour-covered shirts beacuse i forget to put on my apron. I made (i think) the best homebaked bread to date yet for me. The key (thanks to Ed, my friend who is a former famous chef!) is lots of water in the oven to keep it steamy, allowing for a hard crust and chewy inside. And on a whim I decided to make a cardommon braid to go with....well, those moments when you want a little something yummy with your tea or coffee. Oh yes, I'm embracing these domestic skills. They are way under-valued in my opinon.

Uppsala by night

These are some of the familiar scenes I get to see 3 nights a week as I bike home from teaching my evening english courses. 8:15 pm isn't feeling so dark these days...

what i'm loving on 4.2.2009

nypon soppa. Rose-hip soup. With fun little only-found-in-sweden almond biscuits. And eaten in the SUN. I have a sore throat threatening to become a cold, so this vitamin-rich, thick, warm soup is my "medicine."melting snow. Yes, it's almost ALL gone! The once-appreciated but now-despised white stuff can now only be found in the darkest recesses of the forest and the shady corners of gardens.
Forest glens. I am trying to soak into my bones and my memory these gorgeous, inviting, peaceful forests. Today's warm weather made me just want to lie down and nap on a sunny, mossy rock.Linen. I wore linen today! Not wool (not even a hand-knit sweater), not a fleece jacket, but thin airy linen. Hardly a week ago it was winter...grey, cold, millions of layers of clothing. The first day that one can go without is so liberating.

So what are you loving these days?