Photos!

Of what we are doing now.

I will be writing for the website WornThrough, and my time has been taken up with that, collecting fun Christmas decorations and gifts to bring back, writing my own things, keeping up the Are Clothes Modern blog, reading a huge list of books from the library (in English AND Swedish!!), trying to finish an article to send in to Dress, going to the most aggravating and frustrating but helpful Swedish classes, drinking tea in Désirées apartment, going to Stockholm to see friends and concerts, thinking about what to get Erik for his birthday.....and the list goes on.

It's good to be busy!

But it means no blog. Or less blog here.....SORRY!

Here are some pictures to cheer you up:

 Walking in the Uppsala woods.

Spelar spel. This is called Puerto Rico, and it is not a lesson in mindful living in a new land (duh)--these small (dark brown...) dots are "colonists"...more like, "the help" or "labor". But it is a neat, complicated, fun game!

Swedish stripes.

New late-'30s silk velvet dress! So beautiful. 95 kr (~15 dollars!). Fits like a dream.

Homemade vegetarian kofta and whole wheat naan--look at those blisters!

New costume studies journal--so exciting!

Birthday breakfast! Plättar (silver dollar pancakes, they are called I guess?) with whipped cream...and ice cream...and lingonberry jam! I guess you eat cake in bed, instead of breakfast? So Erik surprised me with an incredibly delicious sugar-overload. Plus 20 beautiful roses!

 Card: Shopping trip, drawing of anonymous man from newspaper.

Coq au vin! It. was. so. damned. good. We ended up having a bit of a "red-wine" themed dinner...

With Crozes-Hermitage wine--probably the best I've ever had. And red wine chocolate cake the next day!

Boyfriend and roses. And wine.

Here is cake! It was...not as winey as I would have expected? But still very delicious, and the sourness from the wine was a nice cut to the chocolate. MUMS!

Important tip: the tiny screwdriver in combo with one "nose" of the pliers can NOT replace an awl. I blame the unevenness of the holes on the tool. Provkorsett.

A few weekends ago we went out to Drottningholm to look into a costume sale the 18th c. theater was having. We walked from the bus stop instead of taking the bus; only about a mile? mile and a half? Frustrating because we were walking next to loud, speeding traffic the whole time but...we were glad to catch this view! I wonder if it's loud down there? Because those houses look pretty dreamy.....and to live right on the water like that 10 minutes from Stockholm?

On the last little bridge out to the island where Drottningholm sits. We thought a lot about getting out there in 1700-whatever....by boat? by land and ferry? They had a "little" boathouse....

Exploratory and ultimately successful color match-clashing.

 One of my new favorite pictures....

 All the was left of the sale by the time we got there--I guess people had been lining up since 8 am...and the doors opened at 10. Little did we know! Not that it would have been pleasant to get there at 10 on a Saturday from Uppsala....it was worth the trip out to the castle in any case! The theater is also really cool (click on the link above)...it still operates like it did in the 18th century, with manual labor to move traditional scenery. Someday we hope to see a show there!

Enjoying the misty day, watching sheep grazing freely about the premises....

And dramatic mist coming off the water!

Then back in to Stockholm to have a beer before meeting friends. We made great choices, and I now can't remember what they were...Swedish IPAs and dark lagers...

Erik making much too much soup for dinner with friends. Söt-sur: sweet and sour--one of his best, one of our favorites. Umami!

Beautiful blooms at Désirées beautiful apartment.

And finally: I have hit upon the perfect bread recipe. It's easy to make, hard on the outside and chewy and light on the inside. I am glad that I bike everywhere, or else this could be a real problem....

It's 3:30 now and the sunset is fading....having it dark so quickly is as frustrating as it is somewhat romantic. It is nice to sit inside--unless you can't. It's even dark when we wake up now, which daylight savings had fixed for a while....It's hard to get used to! It feels like I haven't gotten anything done with the day--even though I have at least three more hours until dinner! But I'll get used to it, and it is an interesting thing to live through. Just have to remember to bring my bike light with me, the sun sets faster than I remember....