Dear People Of The World

Was it something I said?

Kind regards,
The one with a grand total of two comments on the last twelve posts, one of which I wrote myself.

A Mother's Pledge

THIS I PROMISE YOU
I will not wave goodbye with vacuum cleaner in hand again, saying "have fun!" with scary fake-happy voice. I will not have you grow up thinking this is normal behaviour. It is not. It may be common, it may be classic motherness, but it's not normal. So there. This will not happen to us again. I will not be that person. This I promise you.

Cornwall Update

We are going to Porthleven!
A big thanks to Jo for excellent advice.
(This picture taken by someone called Mark Stokes. Hello Mark!)

Lady Day Waffles

We celebrated with waffles this morning, just like last year. Interesting discussions this year too, and a little less graphic. The reason Swedes eat waffles on this day is that "Vår Fru" (Our Lady) sound very much like "våfflor" (waffles). At least if you say it quickly. And I guess back in the days people really weren't opposed to find an excuse to feast on milk and eggs in the middle of Lent... A pragmatic people, if anything, the Swedes. So a feast we had! I'm hoping for leftovers as dessert. Happy Friday, everyone.

Sweet Release

Yesterday we finally launched my company website. Big phew. There isn't an English version yet, but hey, I've shared stranger things than this with you. So, without further ado, I give you: SECRETAIRE. Feel free to hire my ass.

PS. It has rabbits.

Yes Please

I've had a crush on Coralie Bickford Smith for years. The talent! The name! The utter Britishness! And now she's done it again, with covers for Penguin's Great Food series. Just look at it. Swoooon. Photos from Saveur.com, check out her other work here (the Clothbound Series 1 is a dream).

You Said Not To Be Embarrassed About Blogging About Nothing

Spring curtains are up. They look like a drunk person made them. Cheerful, would be a kinder way to describe them. Maybe I was very cheerful making them, hence sewing anything but a straight line? Nevermind. Seriously, nevermind. They are curtains. And I have to be somewhere in thirty minutes, so really, nevermind.

Happy happy Wednesday, hope the sun shines merrily on y'all.

Say Hello To 1932

This is our street in 1932. Our house is the second on the right hand side. The downstairs window facing the camera is our kitchen. The one upstairs is Wilhelm's room. I wonder about the family that moved in here first. Who were they? Our kitchen window would have been their livingroom. And Wilhelm's room the bigger bedroom upstairs. Our study would have been their kitchen, and our bedroom and livingroom wouldn't have been there at all. The big birch isn't there. But the apple trees in the back would have been planted, though we can't see them here. I wonder who they were, the house's first family.

This Week's Eats

Well, this weekend was a bit on the boring side. But nevermind. There were highlights as well. The godchild is finally back on Swedish turf, mother and father and brother in tow. Such a very good reunion. Life is so much better when my loved ones stay on this continent. Stay put, I tell you! Stay put!

If you'd like to read some more about this week's eats and happen to be fluent in Swedish, I've added a link to my husband's tumblr above to your right. It's a very good place to go, trust me.

Still a little disappointed that noone answered my Big Love question. I guess NieNie doesn't read Leo... But someone out there must know? No?

Wishing you a very good Monday. Hope you'll get to eat something delicious.

Monday
Risotto ai funghi. Mushrooms from Midsomer, rice from Italy, a well traveled and delicious dish. And yes, the children will hate it. Vehemently.

Tuesday
Zuppa ceci. (It does sound better in Italian, you can't hate me for this). But yes, chick pea soup it is. Again. The kids will not enjoy this either. A tough week for the kiddos.

Wednesday
Noodles with salmon, hopefully in some kind of wonderful broth. If this turns out well it will be the essence of comfort food. If not, well, then at least we tried.

Thursday
Kid's night! Mashed potatoes and falukorv i ugnen. You know, that weird Swedish dish that I've mentioned before? It really doesn't translate well. And you won't want to cook it. So I think we'll just leave it at this.

Friday
The last of the venison. The last filet it is. After this it's all stews. Dear filet, how I will treasure thee! Had the second last one Saturday. Best meal I've had this year, except for our visit to Porto Cervo a couple of weeks ago. Goodbye dear deer!

This Thursday Feels Like Friday

Sometimes it hits me.
Hits me in the best way.
More like a spark than a ton of bricks.
More like a buzzing sound, like a bumblebee in the window before you let it out.
More like the noise from the refrigerator, that you feel more than you hear.
Sometimes I hear it.
Sometimes I feel it.
Sometimes it's right there.
And I close my eyes to keep it inside.
It's so good.