It being the 20th — child benefit day in Sweden — Lydia and I went to town this afternoon for our monthly lunch date. We’ve had better, we’ve had worse, but, after agreeing that Lydia could stay in town to hang out with her boyfriend for a while, I did come home with an inspired present for a birthday party Tage is attending tomorrow, plus three new pairs of comfy yoga pants and a few things Lydia talked me into buying for her. Not only that, but the weather was nice, for November, and I got home just before dark, so all things considered I’d say we came out on the positive side.