What a STAR!

Really proud of our wee man. He has grown up so much this year! This week we had a parent/teacher meeting and then today an open day - to view all the work and projects that the kids have been doing over the past year. His group learnt all about 'luft' (air) which included a journey of discovery into outer space. Cool displays!  The first 6 months of Förskolan have been really tough for him and also Mum & Dad feeling sad about putting him in a foreign situation. He's such a chatty little chap so often got frustrated and bored when the other kids didn't understand him.  But now, things have changed, Han kan tala svenska!  He's doing a great job of chit chat with the children and is starting to 'gel'. There is a different mood in the air - the kids now run to meet him instead of running away and occasionally even wave him good bye at the school gate. It lifts my heart to see him come so far and just to connect with the children.  The teacher said that the kids look at him in a ‘new light’ - now that he can communicate and interact with them more equally - not just an exotic English speaking boy!  

What do you think of the hair cut? Home cut this week :0)

'O bring back my Hubbie to me'

Keeping myself occupied with the daily routine of looking after the children, the house, teacher meeting, school open day, shopping, joining in with 'mums who lunch' and gathering with house group friends this evening. People all around me and the days filled with ‘stuff’ but in both the stillness and chaos I think about my man who is absent and busy setting up his new ecological experiment on some lakes - one of the many reasons we are here in Sweden!  I love Sweden and I am thankful that we are here and have these activities and friends around us. I will maybe have another good night’s sleep tonight (at least without snoring) and persevere till tomorrow when I know he will return and bring his wife and two kids 'stor glädje och kramar' ('Great Joy & Hugs').

ägg smörgåsar

Picnic dinner tonight as we had lots of lunch shared with some lovely girlfriends and their babies.

But this smörgås, with simple ingredients, was a meal in itself: Crusty, chunky, white bread, warm sliced boiled egg, cheese, ham, tomato and crispy lettuce, mayonnaise, butter and pepper....This IS one of my favourite sandwiches!



Recently had some amazing sandwiches in Copenhagen:

Rye sourdough rolls with pastrami, lettuce, mozzarella, tomato, basil, grated carrots and crushed hazelnuts - nuts are fab in sandwiches! The Danish know a thing or two about sandwiches!

FOR ALL THE GREAT GIRLs, WOMEN & MOTHERs!

Yesterday was mother’s day here so I eased off on a little and let Thomas take a lead role in parenting duties: all the nappies, cooking, wiping, bathing, preening, feeding, getting ready to go out were taken, mostly, out of my control!  I didn't have to ask...he just did it - lovely to have a break!  I sat out in the sunshine a little and painted my toe nails and my daughters first time - It's lovely to have a daughter to do girly things with. I am not a high maintenance kind of girl but i do like to paint my nails now and then and put on a little makeup on most days - just a bit of light definition - and not just for the benefit of the people who meet me - it makes me feel a bit more awake, ready and girly. A few weeks ago i got my hair done for the summer and felt very pampered.  It cost a small mortgage (twice the price of a UK hairdresser but that's how hairdressers roll here) and, at the moment, this is just about the only thing I pay for when it comes to self maintenance. I went to a new local Salon, in a boat house, by the river in Umeå ( http://test.harizont.com/?page_id=127 ), which was great to support and chatted to a really nice hairdresser about loads of stuff and left with a free goody bag.  I look forward to returning in the Autumn! It's good to have a treat like this and reaffirm your girlyness or women hood once in a while!...even if it cost allot of pengars and you look crazy in the process!

FOR ALL THE GIRLs, WOMEN & MOTHERs!

Paella

For dinner tonight we rustled up an understated Paella.  A nice Mediterranean change from the BBQ or a summer salad in this heat wave. We didn't have all the seafood trimmings that make the dish 'especial' but it went down a treat with both children and gave me a little sensual experience reminiscent of good times on family holidays in Mallorca.

We got our new RED shoes on!

Took the Children in to town today to get measured up for new shoes. We were in search of some trainers for a wee boy with pinched toes and some 'first shoes' for a little confident walker who loves shoes!  She is always re-arranging the shoe rack and attempting to model the family's shoes.

We went for vibrant RED...first the trainers and then naturally we were drawn to the little red sandals. Both children were delighted and wore the shoes out of the shop.

Fun to walk round town with a boy with new red shoes: he couldn't help but notice his shoes all the time; not looking where he was going; prancing and dancing around! Whilst walking through the shopping centre, he was absorbed and danced with his funky feet on the polished marble tiles...an old man passed and ask me " Nya skor?"

Sensing Park Life

SUN is  S h i n i n g !    Ankles  out sandy toes   STRONG  SHADOWS

Red pumpsBluejeansWhite shirt

Spring Green grass,  little leaves and buds

little toys, Robust hard materials, Fun! sandy pants, little ants,  ice lollies,  little one chilling, Summer breeze happens so fast, little Community, Childs Play, mummy sits on bench smiling with  JOY  as she gets her  V i t a m i n D  r u s h !

Husgrupp ikvall!

Wednesday night is House group night: a time and place where we along with a small group of friends from our church meet in Jesus' name; to know and be known; pray,encourage & support each other;  a home, school, hospital and taskforce; most of all to be in His presence and listen to what he says to each of us. 

Last week we were a taskforce - helping some friends with a big painting task. Tonight we pack people, the guitar, fika, bibles and a creative project in some cars and take our little community to our friends who live in the country side - It will be fun and I couldn't survive without this community!

Treasured little knits

I adore little hand knitted jumpers such as this one that have been handed down generation to generation. My mum passed this one on for my daughter, it was my little sisters, knitted by one of my great Auntie's in the Faroe Islands who is no longer with us. She was a 'benchmark knitter' and passed her skills to her daughter. I also knit things, just small projects, so I understand how much work and attention that has gone into each little masterpiece - Not made by a machine, in a far off county, then sold for a few pounds in the end of season sale, but made with love over several weeks over fika, over tv, over chatting to friends & family - over life.  I hope to teach my daughter to knit. It's good to pass knowledge and skills on to the next generation - otherwise so much can be lost. 

I started a knitting group last autumn and ran through winter - we call it 'CAST' (as in casting on & casting off when you knit or just to 'form' something). It's a guarded 2hrs a week where I sit down with some girl friends, sharing fika and have a chat about everything and anything.  It also engages us though the dark Swedish winter!

 Bread of Life

John 6:35 (NIV)

^"35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Bread is a costly staple in Sweden. Here, in the north, an everyday sliced loaf costs around £2.50!  If I remember correctly you get the equivalent for a £1.25 in the UK...maybe not such good bread though?!

I have been baking my own, every other day, for around 3 months now. The one above just came out of the oven.  As a raising agent, I started using fresh yeast, which you can buy in the chiller cabinet, but now I use a sourdough, 'Surdeg', starter that my friend shared with me. The process takes much longer,  in proving time - 6+2/4 hrs, but the results and flavour are infinitely better. I am excited about every loaf that comes out of the oven - they are all unique as I experiment with different flours, seeds, spices, oats and other grains every time (I'm a 'bit of this, and a bit of that' baker). One great tip for extra raising power is to put a puddle of boiling water in a baking tray at the bottom of the oven - the extra steam gives an extra boost.  I now keep three 'pet' sourdoughs in the fridge and feed them once or twice a week depending on how much activity they've had. I think it is amazing that you can keep this living formula going for years..as long as you water and feed it well!  

Jesus (The bread of Life) offers an everlasting, full flavoured life to anyone that chooses to believe in, trust and follow him. I have chosen to eat this living bread and it tastes so good!

'Monday....so far'

So much daylight now here in Umeå ..... Midsummer is a matter of weeks away and then we will have daylight all night through!  Great boost for growing vegetables but not so for growing kids and groaning parents who have been rustled by their little darlings at 5am!  Task for the week is to secure some good black-out blinds for the bedrooms!

One great thing about early mornings is that you get so much done - all this by 9.30am!:

'Shootin up'

Rhubarb is a good source of calcium, fibre and Vit' C and is known to reduce heartburn, cholestrol, hot flushes (for menopausal ladies) and protect against infection! Eat it raw at your pearl....potty!

 

I'm not a very measured cook but here's the recipe....roughly!:

Pastry base:

100g Butter

21/2 cups plain flour (add some wholemeal to the mix if you want)

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg for binding

1 tsp baking powder

Filling:

2 cups Turkish yogurt (or greek)

1/2 cup cream

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp flour or potato flour

Sautéed rhubarb slices

Vanilla powder as you like it

Pre-heat oven to 200 'C, par cook pastry base, mix up the filling then pour into base and arrange the slices. Cook for 30mins.

Rhubarb and kittens grow abundantly in Scotland and are said to be some of the few things that you can still get your hands on for free! Our vegetable patch is occasionally visited by neighbouring kitties but right now they are shooed-off as we are preparing the soil to plant our seeds & seedlings. A sure sign that it's planting & growing time is when the Rhubarb starts shootin-up!

As a sweeeeet, Sunday night, treat I took a small harvest from the veg patch and set to a Rhubarb & Custard pie:

'When you go down to the woods today you're in for a big surprise!'

There were no big björn (bears) in our forest today - perhaps they fled when they heard the noisy Scottish family approaching! We went for a 5k adventure to christen a newly acquired child carrier backpack - inherited freely from lovely friends who i have noticed have a light grip on 'stuff' (a great trait).

On the subject of calculating the time it takes for you/me to do something (anything) a wise boss, called 'Mr. Forrest', once told me: "calculate the time you think it will take you and double it!" That IS how long it took to cross the door step but it was worth it when we set foot in to this enchanting Swedish forest:

a moss covered boulder..like an alien ship that the forest has claimed

'Ready steady Wok'

Uninspiring, near empty, fridge brought fun this lunch time for 2 hungry children. We wok'd up some simple ingredients from the freezer and store cupboard and came up with:
Chicken & Wholemeal Noodles with peas, spinach, carrots, sweetcorn, chopped cashews, soy sauce & squeeze of lime.

The main ingredient that brought delight
(when used for the first time by my 4yr old)
 was the chopsticks!

"You are a perseverer and I am going to give you Joy in that perseverance"

A word from Heaven two years ago, during a difficult year, and so much has has happened since then........perseverance to walk on in His firm and loving grip has indeed brought much JOY!