Poor Lydia had a rough day today. Strike One: She comes home from school looking downcast, and when I ask her what is the matter, she tells me she lost her hat. When they went to the cafeteria for their mid-afternoon snack, she explains, she put her hat on the shelf next to her coat,… Read More It’s Always Something

  The weather was so beautiful last week and I kept meaning to write something about spring finally being in the air, but in the end I’m glad I didn’t. I’d hate to have left for posterity proof that I was, yet again, fooled by a few days of blue skies. I woke to snow… Read More Blustery Day

When I packed for our recent trip to Uppsala, I decided not to take shampoo because our bags were already full to bursting and Olof assured me that the hotel would have shampoo. Upon our arrival I discovered that what they had was a multi-purpose “hair and body wash,” something that works fine for short… Read More Find out what it means to me

So lately I’ve been seeing a commercial for thin-sliced ham that comes in different flavors. One is garlic, I think, and another is mustard. The third is bacon. That’s right, bacon-flavored ham. Huh.

Petra turned eight months old today. More and more I’m considering the possibility that she’ll be my last baby, and that makes each step she takes away from babyhood feel doubly bittersweet. There are some compelling reasons not to have any more kids, but I’m not sure any of them trumps the fact that I… Read More Whatever it is I think I see …

It’s time to face facts and admit the truth: my husband and I are not a good match in bed. I know, right? The thing is, our rhythms and routines make us entirely incompatible when it comes to sharing a sleeping space. He likes to lie in bed with a book or a sudoku puzzle… Read More The Awful Truth

After more than a week of not posting, I’m finding it a bit difficult to get back in the game. I had thought that I would have internet access while we were away in Uppsala and had planned to update from there, but that didn’t pan out and I came home to a big gaping… Read More Recap

Here in Sweden, all cars must be inspected each year before they’re cleared to be registered and driven. In most ways I like this system because it means that you can always be pretty sure that your car is in good, safe working order. I’ve spent enough years of my life driving undependable rattle-traps that… Read More Taking this act on the road

I know I’m skating on thin ice where the purists are concerned, but I feel obliged to report on my latest un-semla antics. Last night I made saffransemlor med lingongrädde and I beheld them and they were good. Recipe forthcoming.