There is nothing better than having a good book to disappear into when you are traveling by train or airplane. Today we were traveling back to Stockholm from Gothenburg by train and I don't think I can recall this three and a half hour trip ever going by so quickly. I attribute it to my book. I started out reading a short story from the book I am reading for my book club. But then as soon as I finished it I quickly, and without hesitation, dove directly into my new detective novel, number six in the series. Reading detective book series' is an addiction of mine. When I find a new one that grabs me I practically inhale them each, one by one. There is a term for this in Swedish, though it is usually given to young children when they reach the age when they have just begun to read and they cannot devour books fast enough. They read and read and read. It is called "bokslukaråldern" and it literally means the age when you start devouring or gobbling up books. There is even a cute little children's book store around the corner from us called "Bokslukaren," or the book gobbler.
I guess you could say that I am still a "bokslukare." When I find a new series of books that I like, I literally devour them one after the other. Until that sad day when I read the last book in the series and I have to wait for the author to write a new one. This usually happens every one or two years. I have several authors now that I have come to this point with and the wait for the next book is sometimes painful, which is why I am so thrilled to have discovered this new series. Now instead of gobbling them all up one after the other however, I am trying to spread them out and read other books in between, to sort of stretch the joy out so to speak.
But for today, I will relish getting to devour my new detective book on our train trip home. The good news is that I have still barely broken the surface of the story and there is still more than half of the book left to gobble up. Something to look forward to this week!
Sunday, October 7
Saturday, October 6
Day 280: The Colors, Sounds and Smells of Nature
I've never understood why joggers and walkers listen to music when they are exercising outdoors. Don't get me wrong, I too love music but one of the things I love about being outside is listening to the quiet sounds of nature. A gentle rustling of leaves, the happy chattering of birds, and in the fall, the delicious crunching of leaves under my feet. Even if I am on my bicycle, I prefer the sounds around me outdoors. Whether it's the sounds of nature or the sounds of the city, those sounds provide the melodies and songs that keep me company as I ponder life's big questions or try to remember the errands I need to do or the groceries I need to pick up.
We are in Gothenburg this weekend visiting my husbands family and celebrating birthdays. This morning I went out for a walk and a quick trip to the ICA Maxi grocery store. On my way there I took in all of the subtle sounds around me. The sun was shining and the air was quiet and crisp. It was a lovely fall morning. I've already mentioned that this is my favorite time of year but it's worth mentioning again how much I really love fall. Of course it is always better with a sunny day but the colors, sounds and smells of fall make me happy from inside out. Taking a walk this morning was like receiving a warm embrace from mother nature. If you have a beautiful, sunny, fall day in your town, I highly recommend getting outside for a walk so that you can also enjoy the colors, sounds and smells of nature. And feel mother nature give you a big hug.
Happy Fall Saturday!
We are in Gothenburg this weekend visiting my husbands family and celebrating birthdays. This morning I went out for a walk and a quick trip to the ICA Maxi grocery store. On my way there I took in all of the subtle sounds around me. The sun was shining and the air was quiet and crisp. It was a lovely fall morning. I've already mentioned that this is my favorite time of year but it's worth mentioning again how much I really love fall. Of course it is always better with a sunny day but the colors, sounds and smells of fall make me happy from inside out. Taking a walk this morning was like receiving a warm embrace from mother nature. If you have a beautiful, sunny, fall day in your town, I highly recommend getting outside for a walk so that you can also enjoy the colors, sounds and smells of nature. And feel mother nature give you a big hug.
Happy Fall Saturday!
Friday, October 5
Day 279: Right-Brained
Ingenuity is something I don't usually possess when it comes to electronic or mechanical things. I am definitely more right-brain oriented. If you look at key words to describe left-brained people you find logical, rational, analytical, objective. Key words for right-brained people include random, intuitive, subjective, creativity. In fact, I'd even say that when it comes to assembling IKEA furniture I prefer the intuitive approach rather than doing the logical thing and reading the instructions. One time I had to completely take apart a coffee table and start over because of my "intuitive assembly method." You would think I would learn something from that and yet even today you could find me pressing every button possible or clicking around on a computer trying to fix a problem. Okay, maybe I don't click around randomly so much anymore since my husband has "trained me" (read: forbidden me to click or press buttons) but let's just say, my intuition is better used elsewhere.
So imagine my surprise when this morning I was able to fix a problem on my bicycle all by myself, nearly. On Wednesday when I was riding my bike home from my burger adventure, I first noticed that it felt like I was riding with the break on. I meant to ask my husband about it but forgot. So when I was getting my bike out to ride this morning I remembered and thought I'd take a quick look to see if there was anything obviously wrong. I checked out the back wheel. I picked it up and spun it and it seemed fine. I merely looked at the front wheel and it looked okay too so I decided to chance it and ride anyway. I mean, it was a gorgeous morning with sunshine and blue sky. It is sort of a given that I have to ride my bike if the weather is that nice.
I made it all the way to Kungsholmen, which is the island where I work and finally gave up and pulled over to try to figure out what the problem was. Looking down at the front wheel from my bike seat I could see that the break doohickey was slanted to the left. Weird. I cautiously pressed the left side part to the right (my "intuitive" tendency). Nothing happened. I pressed the right side part toward the right. Same thing. At this point I figured I better call the expert. I called my husband. He was very nice and even patient as he tried to walk me through checking certain things. He told me to check the front wheel to see if it was spinning free. I picked up the front wheel and tried to spin it. No dice. The break was definitely the problem.
He then told me to look for and find the "spring arm" on the right that is connected to the break joint. Right. I don't know about you but I didn't see any spring arm. But there WAS this wire looking thing hanging off to the side (the spring arm)... I looked at the other side and suddenly I had "intuitively" figured it out. that skinny, lever-arm looking thing (the spring arm) had come unhooked from that knobby thing sticking out. I pressed it back into place and voila! It worked! I did a quick happy dance. Then I jumped back on my bike and road the rest of the way to work. A Happy Day.
So imagine my surprise when this morning I was able to fix a problem on my bicycle all by myself, nearly. On Wednesday when I was riding my bike home from my burger adventure, I first noticed that it felt like I was riding with the break on. I meant to ask my husband about it but forgot. So when I was getting my bike out to ride this morning I remembered and thought I'd take a quick look to see if there was anything obviously wrong. I checked out the back wheel. I picked it up and spun it and it seemed fine. I merely looked at the front wheel and it looked okay too so I decided to chance it and ride anyway. I mean, it was a gorgeous morning with sunshine and blue sky. It is sort of a given that I have to ride my bike if the weather is that nice.
I made it all the way to Kungsholmen, which is the island where I work and finally gave up and pulled over to try to figure out what the problem was. Looking down at the front wheel from my bike seat I could see that the break doohickey was slanted to the left. Weird. I cautiously pressed the left side part to the right (my "intuitive" tendency). Nothing happened. I pressed the right side part toward the right. Same thing. At this point I figured I better call the expert. I called my husband. He was very nice and even patient as he tried to walk me through checking certain things. He told me to check the front wheel to see if it was spinning free. I picked up the front wheel and tried to spin it. No dice. The break was definitely the problem.
He then told me to look for and find the "spring arm" on the right that is connected to the break joint. Right. I don't know about you but I didn't see any spring arm. But there WAS this wire looking thing hanging off to the side (the spring arm)... I looked at the other side and suddenly I had "intuitively" figured it out. that skinny, lever-arm looking thing (the spring arm) had come unhooked from that knobby thing sticking out. I pressed it back into place and voila! It worked! I did a quick happy dance. Then I jumped back on my bike and road the rest of the way to work. A Happy Day.
The spring arm is that very skinny thing sticking up that curves slightly to the left at the top and is tucked behind that knob. Cool, huh? Time for some bike repair lessons... :-)
Thursday, October 4
Day 278: [Three] Kanelbulle Day
Today is Kanelbullens Dag in Sweden, or Cinnamon Roll Day. This means that bakeries all over Sweden will be baking kanelbullar like crazy. I read online that one of the bakeries in a smaller towns outside of Stockholm will be baking around three thousand today. That means that the bakeries in the big cities, like Stockholm, will probably be baking easily triple that volume. Ah... If only I could eat that many! I would probably throw up if I ate more than, say five or six, but I would be willing to give it my all. Except that then my pants wouldn't fit and I would be in a bad mood. All things considered, one kanelbulle tonight will have to do. We'll just pretend I didn't eat that one yesterday, okay? And then we can stay friends.
It's always nice to have an excuse to eat kanelbulle but I try to abstain on most days. Riding my bike to work these days helps too, as I am not enticed by the magic kanelbulle fumes that are piped out from the convenience stores onto unsuspecting saps like me, if you will recall my post from Day 133. Some days are two kanelbulle days. Some are probably even three kanelbulle days but we don't talk about those nor do we admit to them. Today will be a one kanelbulle day and I am happy with that. Really, I am. At lunch time today I headed out to buy some kanelbulle to enjoy tonight at home with my husband. I was on my way to a bakery called Vetekatten, which seriously has the best kanelbullar in the city. Last year I went after work and can you believe they were sold out of all kanelbullar? How is that even possible on Kanelbullens Dag?
Well, I was determined to have the best for tonight and so going after work and chancing that they would be sold out was not an option. Then I walked outside. It was raining and cold but I pressed on, armed with my umbrella. I got a couple of blocks away and suddenly it dawned on me that the fight to get to Vetekatten during my short lunch break was not worth it so I turned the corner and went to Rosendals Bageriet instead. It is a small bakery that is associated with Rosendals Trädgård, located on Djurgården where we like to go sometimes on weekends. They use all organic ingredients in their baked goods so I felt pretty good about forgoing Vetekatten today. We can always go there on another day. It's an excellent excuse to eat [more] kanelbulle. What can I say?
It's always nice to have an excuse to eat kanelbulle but I try to abstain on most days. Riding my bike to work these days helps too, as I am not enticed by the magic kanelbulle fumes that are piped out from the convenience stores onto unsuspecting saps like me, if you will recall my post from Day 133. Some days are two kanelbulle days. Some are probably even three kanelbulle days but we don't talk about those nor do we admit to them. Today will be a one kanelbulle day and I am happy with that. Really, I am. At lunch time today I headed out to buy some kanelbulle to enjoy tonight at home with my husband. I was on my way to a bakery called Vetekatten, which seriously has the best kanelbullar in the city. Last year I went after work and can you believe they were sold out of all kanelbullar? How is that even possible on Kanelbullens Dag?
Well, I was determined to have the best for tonight and so going after work and chancing that they would be sold out was not an option. Then I walked outside. It was raining and cold but I pressed on, armed with my umbrella. I got a couple of blocks away and suddenly it dawned on me that the fight to get to Vetekatten during my short lunch break was not worth it so I turned the corner and went to Rosendals Bageriet instead. It is a small bakery that is associated with Rosendals Trädgård, located on Djurgården where we like to go sometimes on weekends. They use all organic ingredients in their baked goods so I felt pretty good about forgoing Vetekatten today. We can always go there on another day. It's an excellent excuse to eat [more] kanelbulle. What can I say?
Wednesday, October 3
Day 277: Unconventional Ways to Find Happy
Unconventional ways to Find Happy:
1. Eat a spoonful of honey (peanut butter or almond butter works too).
2. Tell your bad hair/mood/attitude to "go sit on it".
3. Get up from wherever you are sulking and go for a walk. Physically leave the building where you are for at least five minutes.
4. Have a cup of tea (and a biscotti if you are feeling extra grumpy).
5. Paint your nails (dark purple).
6. Eat chocolate (it's okay, it's medicinal).
7. Just be.
8. Failing these, just choose to be in a good mood.
Eating a burger helps too. I just came home from meeting a friend at a new burger joint after work. I ride by this place on my bicycle several times a week when I am on my way home from work and there is always a long line of people outside waiting for the doors to open. Flipin Burgers it's called and they definitely flip some burgers, that's for sure. It was completely packed when we arrived and it was completely packed when we left. I asked the cashier if they were this busy all the time and she said with big eyes, "ALL THE TIME." I can see why after scarfing down my smokey black bean walnut burger and mountain of fries. The icing on the cake for me however was drinking an ice cold Boylan's root beer. I drank it straight from the bottle as I crammed burger and fries into my face. It is sort of a ritual of mine to drink a root beer when I have a burger and I would expect burger places in Texas to serve root beer, but in Stockholm, Sweden? Very impressive I must say.
My friend really wanted to try one of their shakes, and I guess secretly I did too, but they were so busy we felt bad holding a table for a shake when people were standing outside getting rained on, and drooling. The smells in the air were definitely drool-worthy. I probably would have just bitten the bullet and gotten a shake if we hadn't celebrated Kanelbulle Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day) at work this afternoon. One of my colleagues picked some up thinking it was Kanelbulle Day today, though it is actually tomorrow, and so we of course ate them. So the shake would have to wait until next time. And there will definitely be a next time. I have heard that shakes are a good way to Finding Happy as well. So just add that to my list above. And go have yourself a Happy Day.
Ps. Just because I had a kanelbulle today doesn't mean that I am not going to eat one tomorrow as well.
1. Eat a spoonful of honey (peanut butter or almond butter works too).
2. Tell your bad hair/mood/attitude to "go sit on it".
3. Get up from wherever you are sulking and go for a walk. Physically leave the building where you are for at least five minutes.
4. Have a cup of tea (and a biscotti if you are feeling extra grumpy).
5. Paint your nails (dark purple).
6. Eat chocolate (it's okay, it's medicinal).
7. Just be.
8. Failing these, just choose to be in a good mood.
Eating a burger helps too. I just came home from meeting a friend at a new burger joint after work. I ride by this place on my bicycle several times a week when I am on my way home from work and there is always a long line of people outside waiting for the doors to open. Flipin Burgers it's called and they definitely flip some burgers, that's for sure. It was completely packed when we arrived and it was completely packed when we left. I asked the cashier if they were this busy all the time and she said with big eyes, "ALL THE TIME." I can see why after scarfing down my smokey black bean walnut burger and mountain of fries. The icing on the cake for me however was drinking an ice cold Boylan's root beer. I drank it straight from the bottle as I crammed burger and fries into my face. It is sort of a ritual of mine to drink a root beer when I have a burger and I would expect burger places in Texas to serve root beer, but in Stockholm, Sweden? Very impressive I must say.
My friend really wanted to try one of their shakes, and I guess secretly I did too, but they were so busy we felt bad holding a table for a shake when people were standing outside getting rained on, and drooling. The smells in the air were definitely drool-worthy. I probably would have just bitten the bullet and gotten a shake if we hadn't celebrated Kanelbulle Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day) at work this afternoon. One of my colleagues picked some up thinking it was Kanelbulle Day today, though it is actually tomorrow, and so we of course ate them. So the shake would have to wait until next time. And there will definitely be a next time. I have heard that shakes are a good way to Finding Happy as well. So just add that to my list above. And go have yourself a Happy Day.
Ps. Just because I had a kanelbulle today doesn't mean that I am not going to eat one tomorrow as well.
Tuesday, October 2
Day 276: Shake Things Up
Most people follow a certain pattern when it comes to commuting back and forth to work, the grocery store, school or wherever it is they may wander to. Most of us take the shortest route or perhaps the most scenic route. But how many times do we decide to take a completely different route altogether? Regardless of the time it takes or how we think it will look? When we first moved to Stockholm I enrolled in a class and started studying Swedish. It was the middle of winter and quite a cold and snowy one at that. Every day was an adventure when I left the warmth and comfort of our apartment. And it was dark. I took the subway to and from class in the mornings and tried my best to avoid taking the train in the wrong direction or getting off at the wrong stops. It happened more than once that I did both. But anyway, one day I decided that if it was sunny out when my class was over, I was going to walk at least part if not all of the way home. Guess what? It was sunny of course. But even with the sun shining it was blisteringly cold out. I nearly froze to death despite the fact that I was wearing a scarf, hat and my new winter coat. An arctic down duffle especially bought for the move, which was more like a sleeping bag really. It attracted lots of strange looks and even a few laughs on occasion but mostly it kept me warm and I ignored the laughs and stares. And if I found myself getting too cold while I was outside I would just step into the next interesting store I saw to warm up a bit.
It became my new thing, to walk home from class if the weather was "nice." Each day I would choose a different route to walk and each day I would discover some new unknown treasure. It was a wonderful way to get to know Stockholm and I still find myself taking walks off the beaten path. But even before I moved to Stockholm I picked up the habit of taking different routes on occasion to shake things up. When I lived in Los Angeles, California many moons ago I remember reading a book in which the author suggested changing things up by driving a different route to or from a familiar destination. The first time I did it was a bit scary. I mean, I lived in LA and it could be scary to find yourself in unknown territory. But I quickly got over that and learned that a simple change in my scenery often helped me to change my perspective as well. It is always invigorating to visit a new city or place when you are seeing it with new eyes for the first time.
There is no reason to not do that in the cities where we live as well. Surely there is still something new to explore or experience, right? Since I have been riding my bike to and from work I have figured out several different routes that I can take depending on my mood or the time at hand. One is the longer, scenic route when I have all the time in the world, one is the scenic but I'm in a hurry route when I have some time but probably should focus and get to work and one is the dude I'm in a hurry and need to get to work in fifteen minutes route, when I just didn't get up early enough or get ready fast enough. I think it's time for a change so tomorrow I am going to take a different route and see where it takes me. What about you? Will you join me in taking a new route to or from your normal destinations? Maybe explore a new little pocket of town and discover a hidden treasure? I invite you to join me and shake things up a bit. Even if it is as simple as going out your back door instead of your front door when you leave the house, or parking on the other side of the parking lot from where you normally park. Do one thing completely different from what you normally do or go all out and completely turn your world upside down.
Like my photo below...
Someone turned my Texas cut-out upside down. Kind of an interesting perspective, don't you think?
It sort of looks like a bird this way.
Monday, October 1
Day 275: Rocky Monday, Awesome News and a Winner!
Today got off to a rocky start. I tripped going up the stairs with my coffee cup (completely full of coffee) in my hand. Somehow I managed to not drop the cup itself but half of the contents did a sort of Jackson Polluck impersonation against the wall, on the stairs, through the stairs to the cat box and even into the cat box below, as well as all over the surrounding wall. Super fun for a Monday morning. And then to top it off my eye twitch came back while I was showering. With a vengeance I might add. Where does ones day go from that? I'll tell you one thing however, the stairs and wall have never been so clean. See? There's always a silver lining...
After that fiasco I luckily made it to work in one piece and the day continued to improve from there. Just after lunch time I received a phone call with awesome news. A ceramics class I was hoping to sign up for, which was full when I inquired, suddenly had an unexpected opening. And did I want to register? Why yes, thank you, I don't mind if I do. The day was definitely getting brighter despite the gray clouds and dreary dampness in the air.
Then there's all of you. What made me especially happy today was reading all of your comments on yesterday's post. I loved every single one of them. I suppose I don't have any special rituals to celebrate my favorite season either, aside from picking a weekend day early in the fall to replace my shorts, t-shirts and sundresses with turtlenecks, boots and coats. It is always feels slightly bittersweet when I put the summer stuff away. That is until the first day I pull on my favorite turtleneck. And of course the first time I decide a cup of tea sounds better than an ice cream cone. Then it sets in and I am able to accept the change and move forward happily enjoying the new seasons gifts.
Speaking of gifts...
A HUGE thank you to all of you who participated! It is always so much fun for me to hold a drawing. You are all winners in my book! I hope you will visit again and drop me a line to say hello when you do!
Have a wonderfully Happy week!
xoxo/Grace Ann
After that fiasco I luckily made it to work in one piece and the day continued to improve from there. Just after lunch time I received a phone call with awesome news. A ceramics class I was hoping to sign up for, which was full when I inquired, suddenly had an unexpected opening. And did I want to register? Why yes, thank you, I don't mind if I do. The day was definitely getting brighter despite the gray clouds and dreary dampness in the air.
Then there's all of you. What made me especially happy today was reading all of your comments on yesterday's post. I loved every single one of them. I suppose I don't have any special rituals to celebrate my favorite season either, aside from picking a weekend day early in the fall to replace my shorts, t-shirts and sundresses with turtlenecks, boots and coats. It is always feels slightly bittersweet when I put the summer stuff away. That is until the first day I pull on my favorite turtleneck. And of course the first time I decide a cup of tea sounds better than an ice cream cone. Then it sets in and I am able to accept the change and move forward happily enjoying the new seasons gifts.
Speaking of gifts...
Six of you lovely ladies... I thought it appropriate to make hearts (with pages from an old Shakespeare book that is beyond repair) and then set them atop my stash of fall jewels from yesterday.
They even look pretty folded and jumbled together... I wonder who the winner will be...
... a gentle stir by hand...
... and we have a winner!
Congratulations Odella! I will be in touch with you soon to arrange a delivery.
Your Happy Package is in the final stages of completion and will soon be on its way to you!
Have a wonderfully Happy week!
xoxo/Grace Ann
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