Day 181: Who Has Put Rhubarb on my Purse?

I know I said I would try really hard not to write about rhubarb again but I seriously couldn't resist. The other day while grocery shopping I bought a carton of vanilla, rhubarb (yum!) yogurt, only to come home and discover that I had bought a carton of the exact same yogurt the week before and it was still sitting in the refrigerator unopened. Huh? Luckily the expiration dates were two and three weeks away so I was pretty sure we would get around to eating them both.

Even so, this morning I decided to bring one of the cartons to work so I could eat it with granola or cereal for breakfast during my mornings at work without having to cart it to work each day in a tupperware container. I offered some to one of my colleagues, being sure to point out that it wasn't just regular yogurt, but rhubarb yogurt, which sparked a comment from her (and a lesson for me) about a Swedish phrase she remembered. "Vem har lagt rabarber på min handväska?" Which she said literally means, "Who has put rhubarb on my purse?" However it actually means "Who has run off with my purse?" Seriously. I am not making this up.

I personally wouldn't have a problem with someone putting rhubarb on my purse, as long as it was enough to bake a pie with later, and especially if it was a cute, orange, leather handbag like the one below. I would however, have a problem with someone "sticking iväg," or running off, with my purse. So where did the phrase come from and what does rhubarb have to do with it? Maybe because rhubarb is so delicious and there used to be a problem with rhubarb theft? It's doubtful. But the bottom line is that this new phrase that I learned by hap and chance today has provided me with endless laughter and smiles almost the entire day. That's what I call finding happy. Or maybe it found me?

This photo is compliments of my sister-in-law, Mia, who lives in Gothenburg. I have to tell you the story of how I acquired it. As I sat writing my post I thought it would be really fun to have a photo of "rhubarb on my purse" but I didn't have any rhubarb. (That isn't entirely true but it is mostly true. See the photo and description below). So anyway, knowing that my sister-in-law has tons of it growing right in her yard, I thought I would call and ask her to take a photo of rhubarb on her purse. Right. No, I'm not completely crazy. I called and told her about how I just learned this new, Swedish expression, "Vem har lagt rabarber på min handväska?" to which she laughed and laughed. But the laughing really got going once I made my request. I mean, how many times do you get a call at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night and someone asks you to lay some stalks of rhubarb on your purse and take a photo? Ok, maybe I am completely crazy. But here is the photo. 

So, we actually DID have "some" rhubarb. In the frig. One of my husband's colleagues brought some to him a couple of days ago but as soon as he came home with it, he took it to the kitchen and peeled and sliced it up. Now it is just waiting to be made into something yummy. And yes, I decided to put a piece of peeled, sliced rhubarb on my cat and take a photo. And I don't think I am crazy? What do you think?