"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?