6-year olds are so literal and Nils is no exception. I used the Swedish saying “a good laugh lengthens your life” and he asked me what that meant. I explained that I think it is vital to your mental health and inner happiness to laugh and have a great laugh ever so often. If you feel happy and joyful I think you might live longer. A little later Nils fell and hurt himself and when I was comforting him he said to me “ will I die earlier now”? I looked at him with surprise and said, of course not! It is only a scratch! But Nils was not referring to his injuries but to the fact that he was crying and that is the opposite of laughing. Luckily I could convince him that crying when falling will not influence once life expectancy.
The other day we were talking about the climate changes on Earth. Nils is interested in the planets and of some reason we talked about the fact that the Earth turns around its own axis. Axis in Swedish is the same word as shoulder and suddenly Nils said:
- No wonder the Earth is feeling so bad. It has to sleep on the same shoulder all the time!
Yes, a good laugh and great kids probably lengthens your life!
For a while everything was white here and the “chocolate and fireplace urge” increased but today most of the snow is melting away. Today we are preparing Elsa’s tenth birthday party with activities such as card making, photo-frame-designing, pizza baking, watching a romantic comedy and then they will all sleep over. Next weekend we also have 4 kids staying over here and 6 people staying in our summerhouse in Vegby as the Norwegian delegation from the CISV camp (Tennessee 2010) is coming for a visit. Will be a fun and active weekend for sure.
But, first we will all enjoy a big brunch!
Wishing you a great weekend!
May 2013
in Ulricehamn
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Getting fit and climatesmart at the same time!
The weekend is starting and we will have a busy weekend with Jochem taking part as a table tennis referee both days in a local tournament. I will help out at the car boot sale of the football club. On Saturday afternoon I am off to a meeting and on Sunday we have invited some of our foreign friends here in Ulricehamn. The kids have decided that we will serve Mexican food to our Danish and German friends but with a Swedish dessert. I got a book from Karin in the Netherlands showing Tapas according to Dutch food traditions so maybe I can even get some Dutch snacks on the menu. Actually the idea of looking at your own cooking culture and changing it to fit in a tapas style is really nice. Last year Jochem and I went to a wine tasting which also included a Swedish Christmas menu but in very small tasty portions with a twist and we loved it. Jochem even enjoyed the Swedish haring!
We are taking part in a pilot study in becoming a climate smart family and Jochem is currently measuring all our appliances on how much power they use. We have realised that we can save some money here and at the same time improve our climate. In a few weeks time a light designer will come to our home and I am really looking forward to this. We only have low energy light bulbs but they do not give a very cosy light so I hope we can make some improvements. We will also have a course in eco-driving and take part in a climate smart cooking course. Quite fun actually and the local press is following our progress (assuming we are making some!). I write a blog about our adventures and the kids are all very much involved. When Jochem and I at times thinks about taking the car they tell us not to and to use our bikes instead. In other words, we are not only helping to save the climate and reducing costs. We are on a path to a fit lifestyle (well, at least a little bit fitter!)
Hoping the sun shining here is also reaching you guys!
We are taking part in a pilot study in becoming a climate smart family and Jochem is currently measuring all our appliances on how much power they use. We have realised that we can save some money here and at the same time improve our climate. In a few weeks time a light designer will come to our home and I am really looking forward to this. We only have low energy light bulbs but they do not give a very cosy light so I hope we can make some improvements. We will also have a course in eco-driving and take part in a climate smart cooking course. Quite fun actually and the local press is following our progress (assuming we are making some!). I write a blog about our adventures and the kids are all very much involved. When Jochem and I at times thinks about taking the car they tell us not to and to use our bikes instead. In other words, we are not only helping to save the climate and reducing costs. We are on a path to a fit lifestyle (well, at least a little bit fitter!)
Hoping the sun shining here is also reaching you guys!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Being British again - even if only for a moment!
The man sitting next to me at my flight to the UK the other day was dressed in beige chinos, a checked shirt and had his long silver gray hair tied in a ponytail. I could not help thinking that he looked like an aged Indiana Jones only missing his hat. He was busy reading but when the stewardess arrived with the drinks and snacks I leaned over and asked him.
- Is it as good as they say?
- Oh, yes! Two years ago I sat in an airplane looking at a man using one and I did exactly what you just did. I asked him if it was any good and the man answered that it was great. I went home and ordered one on the Internet and since then I can´t go anywhere without my e-book. Within a year it had paid itself as I read a lot.
I got really interested in e-books, chatting away to my neighbour as I recently read about the enormous increase in e-book sales. Downloading books cost about 6 or 7 dollars, you can easily adjust the size of the letters and you do not need to carry heavy books along while travelling. The fact that you can download the different titles from most places in the world makes the book market truly global. Another interesting observation was that here I was sitting with a 65 + person telling me why we all should get into e-books. Travelling has a pleasant effect of opening one’s mind!
Right now I sit in a B&B suitable for Jane Marple in a small village on the English countryside. With thick oak doors, a fireplace from 1825, flowered wallpaper and eating breakfast in a large room with different travellers I could be back in the 19th century. But, instead I am on a EU study visit with 9 other foreigners learning about how European mobility can enhance possibilities for people and communities in rural areas. The host organisation is called Grampus Heritage and Training and has since it started 15 years ago made it possible for over 400 young Europeans to do vocational training in other countries. Many students from other countries have come to Britain and many of the Cumbrian students have gotten a chance to practise different skills in other countries, they have worked on many different community based projects and they have increased their language skills and tolerance for others. Yesterday I met Jamie who is a very talented furniture maker who has been away on Leonardo exchanges in Finland and on Cyprus. Not only did he learn new skills himself but he was also able to pass on some of his skills to young people in Finland and on Cyprus. He runs his own furniture making company in Cumbria today!
I hope we can get our secondary school in Ulricehamn involved in some Leonardo projects. Tonight I have been learning about Iceland, Croatia and Rumania and how they work with vocational mobility for young people and my hope is that I will be able to set up a network during this study visit that will lead to a long term Leonardo project focusing on rural areas.
And now I will enjoy my English tea, dressed in an extra cardigan (as single glass is still used in many British homes) and sleep tight in my Victorian bed! Cumbria reminds me of my year in Cardiff and makes me once again realize that the UK have so much more ot offer than just the London area!
- Is it as good as they say?
- Oh, yes! Two years ago I sat in an airplane looking at a man using one and I did exactly what you just did. I asked him if it was any good and the man answered that it was great. I went home and ordered one on the Internet and since then I can´t go anywhere without my e-book. Within a year it had paid itself as I read a lot.
I got really interested in e-books, chatting away to my neighbour as I recently read about the enormous increase in e-book sales. Downloading books cost about 6 or 7 dollars, you can easily adjust the size of the letters and you do not need to carry heavy books along while travelling. The fact that you can download the different titles from most places in the world makes the book market truly global. Another interesting observation was that here I was sitting with a 65 + person telling me why we all should get into e-books. Travelling has a pleasant effect of opening one’s mind!
Right now I sit in a B&B suitable for Jane Marple in a small village on the English countryside. With thick oak doors, a fireplace from 1825, flowered wallpaper and eating breakfast in a large room with different travellers I could be back in the 19th century. But, instead I am on a EU study visit with 9 other foreigners learning about how European mobility can enhance possibilities for people and communities in rural areas. The host organisation is called Grampus Heritage and Training and has since it started 15 years ago made it possible for over 400 young Europeans to do vocational training in other countries. Many students from other countries have come to Britain and many of the Cumbrian students have gotten a chance to practise different skills in other countries, they have worked on many different community based projects and they have increased their language skills and tolerance for others. Yesterday I met Jamie who is a very talented furniture maker who has been away on Leonardo exchanges in Finland and on Cyprus. Not only did he learn new skills himself but he was also able to pass on some of his skills to young people in Finland and on Cyprus. He runs his own furniture making company in Cumbria today!
I hope we can get our secondary school in Ulricehamn involved in some Leonardo projects. Tonight I have been learning about Iceland, Croatia and Rumania and how they work with vocational mobility for young people and my hope is that I will be able to set up a network during this study visit that will lead to a long term Leonardo project focusing on rural areas.
And now I will enjoy my English tea, dressed in an extra cardigan (as single glass is still used in many British homes) and sleep tight in my Victorian bed! Cumbria reminds me of my year in Cardiff and makes me once again realize that the UK have so much more ot offer than just the London area!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Empowered and grateful!
Just got back from a one-week group and leadership development course. It has been really interesting to be part of a psychological group test and I got back feeling really tired but very empowered. I use that term at work once in a while but now it has a true meaning to me and I feel very thankful that I got the chance to be part of this course.
Tomorrow I am off to Great Britain for 8 days to learn about how the town of Carlisle use international work experience among excluded youth to get them included in society again. I am sure it will be very interesting even though I right now would like to stay home with my family instead. Jochem is turning out to become a fantastic stay at home dad and I got home to a house that has never been cleaner, with flowers on the table and the dinner ready. I could really get used to this! And tonight he has fixed a babysitter and we are off for an evening of our own. I feel grateful and very fortunate!
Last weekend Jochem and Nils spent in the Netherlands and we girls had a really girly weekend with shopping at IKEA, eating out, going to the movies and talking, talking, talking. It was great and I made me realize how aware our girls are about many different things. Was I that clever and open-minded at their age (probably not!).
My dad turned 70 last Friday but unfortunately we could not attend his big day. From what I heard from my dad I understood that it was a special day and I know that my parents filled the house with friends and family. I still see my parents as fairly young and very much “in the middle of life”. The number 70 does not fit with that image. My parents travel the world, are very active and very social. If I can come close to live my life like they do at the age of 70 I will be very happy. And soon I hope we can meet up and celebrate the birthday all of us together. Wish I can go to Skåne (region in south Sweden where I grew up) soon to see both family and friends I haven’t seen in a while!
Tomorrow I am off to Great Britain for 8 days to learn about how the town of Carlisle use international work experience among excluded youth to get them included in society again. I am sure it will be very interesting even though I right now would like to stay home with my family instead. Jochem is turning out to become a fantastic stay at home dad and I got home to a house that has never been cleaner, with flowers on the table and the dinner ready. I could really get used to this! And tonight he has fixed a babysitter and we are off for an evening of our own. I feel grateful and very fortunate!
Last weekend Jochem and Nils spent in the Netherlands and we girls had a really girly weekend with shopping at IKEA, eating out, going to the movies and talking, talking, talking. It was great and I made me realize how aware our girls are about many different things. Was I that clever and open-minded at their age (probably not!).
My dad turned 70 last Friday but unfortunately we could not attend his big day. From what I heard from my dad I understood that it was a special day and I know that my parents filled the house with friends and family. I still see my parents as fairly young and very much “in the middle of life”. The number 70 does not fit with that image. My parents travel the world, are very active and very social. If I can come close to live my life like they do at the age of 70 I will be very happy. And soon I hope we can meet up and celebrate the birthday all of us together. Wish I can go to Skåne (region in south Sweden where I grew up) soon to see both family and friends I haven’t seen in a while!
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