This morning when I went out to the car, there were cabochon ice diamonds all over the windshield. I had to scrape them off so I could see to drive, but oh! how I wanted to string them on a silver chain and wear them. Because it wasn’t overcast I could see how light it was already at 7:45 a.m. That’s the thing about the gradual light increase. It sneaks up on us here in Sweden because it’s so cloudy and rainy all the time in the winter that we don’t KNOW there are changes going on up there behind the scenes. It’s kind of exciting to think that spring really IS on the way again. I’m so vårsugen, as they say in Swedish. You can translate that literally as “sighing for Spring” which makes me smile and feel all maidenly and fainting.
What a lovely winter day we’re having, even though I see a rather worrisome bank of clouds coming this way. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, the wind is blowing. When is the wind ever NOT blowing here in Skåne? It’s like living in a wind tunnel. It’s worse than being in the Windy City, I swear. The company flags outside my window, which were grey and beaten and ratty are being replaced as I write this. 2 men have winched down the old ones and are shaking out shiny, pristinely white new ones and sending them up to flutter frantically. The flags look much larger while the guys are holding them than when they’re all the way at the top of the flagpoles.
I went to see National Treasure last night. It was quite well done, and servicably entertaining, although the choppy hyperactive scene-changes got a little annoying. One review I read of it said it was “a mix of Indiana Jones without the snakes and Ocean’s 11 without the casinos” which pretty much sums it up. Very clean, and unobjectionable, although much too predictable and since I guessed nearly all of the answers to the riddles as the movie progressed, either it was way too easy or I am very smart. Since the lead character in the movie figured out the clues with alarming ease as well, for a treasure that people had supposedly been searching for since the CRUSADES, I’m guessing I share a genius-level IQ with Nic Cage’s character. I was turned off by the head-patting patronization that the lead female character was treated with in several scenes, and the puppydog-smartalec sidekick was more irritating than amusing, but overall I think it was a decent, fun, family film, and the ending treasure scene was outstanding. I think I would have preferred Sean Bean as the lead, however, since Nic Cage does nothing for me, and Boromir Sean was eye-candy captivating in every scene he was in.
Right next to the movie theater is a huge, sparkly new bookshop that I didn’t know existed. I had literally 5 minutes to skim the unusually large English fiction selection and still managed to come away with 4 books. It would have been 5 but DAMN, books are SO BLOODY expensive here. Even though the book tax went down a couple of years ago from 25% to 6%, a small-size hardcover children’s book is still in the range of $29. Regular paperbacks are $20. ouch I’ll wait for the February book sales to spend the rest of my bonus money.