Author: lizardek

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Sweden anymore. It’s been sunny in January for a week! 7 days! I’m loving the blue sky and bright sun and glitter off the diamond-crystal-melty-white snow, but I’m pretty sure we’re not in Sweden anymore. 7 days of sunshine in the middle of winter in Sweden is unheard of. But you’re hearing it here! It’s true! Would I kid you? I can hardly believe it myself, each day glowing like a bright jewel, a shiny gift. Maybe this is an alternate universe. Let’s do the time warp again!* Knock Knock Who’s there? I’m a...

Lizardmom’s Favorite Viennese Brownies 8 oz pkg cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 1/4 tsp almond extract 1/2 cup margarine 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt sliced almonds 2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate Combine cream cheese, sugar, egg and extract, set aside. Melt chocolate and margarine, cool. Beat eggs, add sugar and chocolate mixtures. Sift together: flour, baking powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and mix well. Pour half of chocolate batter into greased 8″ square pan—spread with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining chocolate batter. Sprinkle with almonds....

There are moose on top of my computer. They make me happy. I think it’s strange that moose don’t go “moo” when it seems like such a logical thing for them to say. I was all excited about having 4 days in a row with no plans, but I forgot about my sister-in-law turning 40 so now it’s 3 days in a row and a birthday party. Number of Swedes Who Have Walked Into My Office So Far Today And Spoken English With Me Despite Being Perfectly Well Aware That I Speak Fluent Swedish: 7 That should probably annoy me,...

Winter wears a silver strand of pearls. Each day is a new pearl strung ’round Winter’s neck. They’re variegated in color, white to pale blue, dusty grey to muted steel and back again. Sunny days rest inbetween like diamonds, sharply cut, sparkling, a fierce and bright shine. I couldn’t wait until the book sales. Those gift certificates burned a hole in my pocket. I went back to the bookstore last night and came out with a haul of beautiful, inky-smelling, colorfully dust-covered or shiny printed paperback books, fiendishly giggling and rubbing my hands together. Part of me wished I could...

It’s bloody cold here. This morning when I drove to work it was -7C, and even though the sun has been shining for TWO SOLID DAYS, it’s been below zero for most of it. Anders is a walking furnace and so are my children so they never seem to notice the cold in the house, but I can’t seem to stay warm, and it’s not the fault of the house apparently, it’s just ME. Especially when I’m sitting still working at the computer. I sometimes feel my hands and feet will fall off they get so cold. I’ve tried typing...

The day is framed by a pale winter palette. The sky lightens a pale blue and lavender with streaks of rosy glow on the horizon where the sun is slowly being revealed by the turning of the earth. Later, the sun, setting, darkens the pale blue and lavender with streaks of rosy glow on the horizon exactly opposite its morning view, slowing sinking down into hiding. Snow bleaches the whole world white, there is only shadow and sun. The moon this morning, an enormous beveled disc, thrown by some gigantic muscled Olympian, hung incongruously alone and shining on the spotless...

Flat Stanley arrived in Sweden last week, but since Martin & Karin, and more importantly, the camera, were gone, we were forced to wait until today to give him a tour of Flyinge. He was sent here by my sister’s daughter Rachel, and will be heading to Germany tomorrow for a quick tour of “Mad King” Ludwig’s castles with johann_metzger before heading back to Virginia to share his travels with Rachel’s class. He’ll be taking along a viking helmet and a Swedish flag and we’ve uploaded photos of his visit to Flyinge. Yesterday was a gorgeous clear sunshiney day, but...

Where do you find a dog with no legs? Right where you left him. What do you call a fly with no wings? A walk. Two strings walk into a bar. The first tries to order something. “I don’t serve strings in this bar,” the bartender says roughly and throws him out. The second roughs himself up, ties his ends together, walks in, and orders. “Hey, didn’t you hear what I told your buddy?” the bartender says. “Yeah,” the string says. “Aren’t you a string?” the bartender says. “I’m a frayed knot,” the string replies. A man walked into a...

The moon is a dusty thumbprint in a clear blue sky, and the winter sun is blazing down low, making sharp shadows and sparking off every surface. A sugar-coating of snow was sifted down upon the ground during the night, it sparkles in the sunlight. A pair of swans in the pond, one standing, one afloat, he bends his neck down and touches her gently with his beak. They are so white in the blue and shining pond. Quiet day of AWC work, laundry, grocery shopping. My family arrived home at 7 p.m. and all is right in my world...

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...