A Night at the Opera - thanks to the babysitters

 While WC had a sleepover with his Swedish aunt and uncle (and of course his cousin Ingrid) Mom and Dad could enjoy an entire evening together. We went to the Stockholm Royal Opera House to go see the Händel opera Xerxes. We had lovely seats on the first balcony! Perfect!

 

Kim during the intermission in The Golden Hall at the Royal Opera House.

Outside of the main entrance of the opera house, on the bridge across Helgeandsholmen, leading to the Royal Palace.

Tara at a cute little French restaurant earlier in the evening. (It gets dark around 3.30 PM now...)
 We enjoyed duck (!) and pepper steak, and escargots of course!

Pure shoe-fetischism

What a soothing way of spending your weekend, by taking care of your favorite pair of Oxford shoes!
In the Nilsson household, the male part of the family use the better half of Sunday afternoons to care for his collection of shoes.
Kim: Just like in the movie - the first thing to do is to clean the shoes with wash benzin (if you want to avoid the saddle wash foam that takes a lot longer to soak up and get dry). Then I apply Kiwi shoe paste with a applying brush (and let it dry for a few minutes - the instruction movie keeps a faster pace...) and after it is completely dry I buff it with a buff brush. Then I apply shoe creme (Saphir Medaille d'Or Crème) which is made of beeswax that helps protect the leather. To finish off with a perfect shine I apply a dab of water and super-shine polish (Saphir Medaille d'Or Pate de Luxe) and gently rub it into the leather with a fine piece of polish cloth. The final result is somewhat close to the instructional movie above.

Happy be-lated Halloween!

Mom and son were able to enjoy cutting up a perfectly spooky Jack-o-Lantern on out kitchen counter!


Theme music for the occasion! "Trick or Treat or Die"

Leaves and hot chocolate by a lake

"Here you are, daddy - you get this leaf from me."

Sandwich break (above) in the woods by Hellasgården. Above right - looking at the daredevil bike ramp!

Slippery when wet! Makeshift bike ramps in the woods in the Nacka Reserve.
(Click on images to enlarge.)

Kim and WC by one of the more elaborate ramps (above).

 Dammtorpssjön in the Nacka Reserve.

Bubble bath time!

 pIRaTE BUbB3lBatH is the BEST!!!

 Can never have too many bubbles! Never!

 Mommy's boys keeping clean on a Sunday evening.

Layered Clothing

 This is what you are getting dressed for when visiting Sweden in February...

 Cross-country skiing far away from the tracks!

A bare fell mountain, a typical view of the Fennoscandian mountain range.

A few words on layered clothing, and how to stay warm during Swedish winters.

Clothing in the cold: Basically, you need to plan getting dressed in three layers:

Layer 1 – Base layer; to keep your body dry and warm, and transport moisture from your body to the outer layers. This garment should be made of wool or synthetic fibers with high warming effect. (Good wool underwear does not itch!) Absolutely no cotton! You will need both a top (long sleeved) and a bottom (long legged). Plus thick wool socks… No cotton!

Suggested garments; Layer 1: Merino wool crew body and Merino wool leggings.

Layer 2 – Insulation layer; this layer makes it possible to retain body heat and provides insulation and warmth while transporting moisture away from your body. This could be either a wool pullover, or a synthetic fleece jacket – both materials are great. Absolutely no cotton sweater! (You should also add a thick scarf to this layer so as to not expose your neck to the wind chill.)

Suggested garments; Layer 2: Fleece lined wool sweater.

Layer 3 – Protection layer; to shield against wind, snow and cold while releasing surplus heat from the layers below. Shell jackets and pants have great breathing ability and are also waterproof. A down parka or something similar with thick insulation is also very warm and protective. 70 percent of your body heat leaves from your head (your body is like a thermos). So you should always have a warm hat on – either wool or synthetic. No cotton!

Suggested garments; Layer 3: Ultralight down jacket or Parka jacket.

Of course, for an outer layer - some warm, insulated snow boots are also important.

This is how we dressed during our most recent winters.

And as for skiing technique - here is a great introduction to the basics of the diagonal stride in x-country skiing.

Mastering Swedish - Lessons 1-5

Five lessons in Swedish that can blow you away. A Canadian radio show host tries to follow language lesson instructions in Swedish. "Oh! Swedish is  such a beautiful language!". (They're all great but lesson three is probably the most fun - and the least hard to take in - so we put that one first.) Enjoy!


Lesson 3 - The difference between "sch" sounds and "tj" sounds in tongue-twisting Swedish pronunciations.


Lesson 4 - Hard and soft G's and H's in Swedish.


Lesson 5 - Tonal and consonant trickery in Swedish pronunciations. (This is a hard one!)


Lesson 1 - Homographs (you can find the transcription for this episode in the description field for this video here.)


Lesson 2 - Inflections (you can find the transcription for this episode in the description field for this video here).

First snow of the year!

Hey mom! The playground looks funny! Why is there white stuff on my swing?

Snow-covered playground area in our courtyard.


In front of the family stereo. "Candle on the water" - A spiritual music appreciation! Watch for the praising hands!

International Suit-Up Day!

So, instead of taking part in the office fun (dressed in my best three-piece, two-button charcoal suit) I will send my hommage for this day of appreciating sartorial skills of general tailoring and bespoke collections by leaving you with some links of importance: Gieves & Hawks, Ermenegildo Zegna, Brioni.

Winter boots

"Oh... the weather outside is frightful...." ... but at least WC got himself a nice pair of winter boots with wool lining to keep extra warm!

In the Navy

 

One little midshipman in his Navy outfit.

 Starboard? Why does mommy keep repeating that?

Do I have all the qualities for Annapolis?

1. Do I have a smokin' cool Navy uniform? Check! 

2.Can I yell out my commands? Check!

3. Do I attract the ladies? Check!

Your Moment of Zen!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Moment of Zen - Pure Swedish Genes
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Hilarious! From the sheer analytical minds of Fox & Friends.

One hike later

Back from a short day-hike. This is what our hallway looks like!

Today, we enjoyed goulasch (cooked on our storm kitchen) on a little peninsula by the lake (Källtorpssjön) near Hellasgården outdoor center. WC was walking around the area, mesmerized by the water right next to our little dining spot, and having a great time!

As you can see - our cats had not really missed us very much.

Colors of fall

New fall wardrobe. Suit: Tiger of Sweden Norden , Socks: Falke, Merino wool v-neck sweater: Polo Ralph Lauren, "Khaki in Tobacco" slim fit chinos: Dockers, paisley pocket squares: Stenströms, hand-sewn Oxford shoes: Loake.

After updating our sons closet we thought it would be nice to let daddy get some new apparel. Stay tuned for the female closet update. There is a wonderful double-breasted camel coat from Stockholm at MQ, and a hand-knitted wool sweater "lusekofta" that mommy is looking for. Our lesson from last weekend (when we were caught in ice cold rain and had to rush through the overflowing streets) was to be better prepared for the Swedish fall weather and invest in some good Wellingtons, as shown below the high Tretorn Sarek Millennium hiking wellies for mom and LaCrosse Hamptons street wellies for dad.

Crayfish festival!

A table full of crayfish, boiled with dill, and served with different versions of bitter - this night we had Piratens Besk (a very smooth bitter snaps). And of course, a live fire to keep us warm through the cold late summer evening.

Farmor and Farfar and Kim.

Wallpapering the apartment

In the midst of a lot of work! Wow - maybe the most intense week of our lives! Wallpapering certainly puts your married life to the test. But we are quite proud of the result.

Some more summer photos from last month

Look at meeeeeee! Wheelbarrow racing in the yard.

Sandbox time.

Gathered around the table with Farmor och Farfar.

Yes! It is fun to use the swing.

WC reading a bedtime story to Dad.

Friends for dinner

Mr. Napkin Man comes to visit for dinner. WC politely shakes his hand.

The Headless Man comes to visit. WC is not impressed.
(Photos taken this summer at the cottage.)

Sunday menu

Reindeer stew with red wine, juniper berries and rosemary gravy. Served with mashed turnips.

Recipe:

1. Go to the snowy mountains.
2. Find a reindeer.
3. Catch it with a lasso.
4. Cut its throat.
5. Cut out the best parts with a sharp knife.
6. Take the snowmobile back to civilization.
7. Put the meat in a hot pot.
8. Keep stirring.
9. Add red wine, cream, juniper berries and some fresh rosemary.
10. Ready to eat.

Early fall hiking day

 Two hikers in the Nacka Reserve.

 The sun is shining. The weather is nice. WC is sporting his new Polarn & Pyret shell pants and Tretorn wellies. And of course - no hiking outfit is complete without a warm John Deere hat.

 Hand in hand with mommy!

 Strenuous walk uphill - one has to concentrate!

 

Mother and son on the trail, posing for Mr. Camera man.

 Dad and WC on the trail, leading from the city into the Nacka Nature Reserve. WC enjoys the comfort in his Vaude Baby Butterfly Carrier.

(Click on the map to increase size.)

Our morning hike was a pretty easy one, but it is always nice to get out and enjoy the early fall colors. We met a few people in the forest that were looking for mushrooms, and we saw a fair amount of blueberries left on their bushes.  We started at 10 AM by the Hammarby-backen (red dot) and then walked across the forest in nice elevation. After an hour, we crossed the road and walked across the meadows(where the trail is man-made and a lot wider. This is where WC was let out of his harness so that he could do his own little hike). We arrived at Hellasgården (blue dot) around 11.40 and enjoyed the warm noon weather  (around 50-55 F). The whole family had lunch at Hellasgården and took a bus back (blue lines) to the inlet at Järla lake, where we got off and hiked back along the shore of Sickla lake (burgundy arrows). By this time, our son had already fallen asleep on daddy's shoulders.