things (23)

Blog entries on purchases, inventions, and interesting objects.

Sorted chronologically, newest first. 23 posts.

A cool family vehicle
10/8/15
I saw one of these family transport bikes on the way to the grocery the other day. I've seen it on before on the Copenhagen Cycle Chic website, but it was the first time I saw one for real. Isn't it cool? And it's actually being sold as a family vehicle! Read more>>>

Seasons change with the scenery
09/11/6
Oh, I bought myself an early birthday present, which I admittedly partly bought mostly to battle boredom in the train, even if I've been meaning to buy it since I've heard about it: Haruki Murakami's memoir, where he talks about running. I'm glad I bought it. It was funny, and at the same time that I felt I could relate to some things he described, I enjoyed reading about the out-of-my-league experiences of a more superior, more disciplined runner... Read more>>>

Monopoly - and Mellanopoly
09/10/15
As we were cleaning out Marcus' dad's old storage room looking for old stuff that used to belong or have been handed down to Marcus, we found, among other interesting childhood memorabilia like old handwritten projects (in the days before everybody had printers), a very old Monopol board in a yellowing box... Read more>>>


Product review # 4
09/7/7
In contrast to my previous product reviews – of things ranging from hiking boots to a yoga mat, this one is the real thing. About 3 months ago, Global Ride Productions contacted me and other bloggers to review a 3-DVD set called Hawaii Rides, a coached cycling program for indoor- and road bikers... Read more>>>

Replanting herbs
09/6/26
I'm going to try to find out if we can grow herbs in the kitchen all year. I don't have a reputation for having a green thumb and I've never grown anything from seed. I have, however, grown some decorative plants in the apartment from cuttings, and judging from the fact that they're all still thriving, I guess that I could be a decent enough gardener to upgrade to edibles... Read more>>>

I interrupt my studying for...
09/3/10
...food! I've been drooling over these cookbooks for half a year now, and since this month is booksale month in Sweden, I could finally buy them at the price I'm willing to pay for them (I considered buying them in the store, but I saved 100 kronor buying them online during the sale).... Read more>>>

Small informal housewarming thing!
09/2/1
Since we moved to the new apartment, the question of whether we should hold an "official" housewarming party came up in my mind. Who should be invited, keeping in mind that I had English-only speaking friends, Swedish-only speaking friends, and friends who are bilingual? What should we eat? Should it be lunch, dinner or fika? Potluck or all-home cooked?... Read more>>>

Let the monsters in
09/1/4
Let me share what makes me smile when I open the door to the new apartment – aside from the fact of going in the new apartment, of course... Read more>>>


Furrr!
08/11/22
Kind of strange, kind of cool, but very warm indeed... Go to post>>>

Food journal number 42: Meet our cast iron pan
08/8/12
The Swedish company Skeppshult makes fine bicycles, but they also make top-quality cast iron pans. Guess which one we bought? Cast iron pans don't only last a year or two –not even for just a few decades – but literally for more than a lifetime, which, even if we're talking about Swedish life expectancy, is more than 83 years... Read more>>>

Something's definitely wrong here...
08/7/28
(a.k.a. Why you shouldn't hire cross-eyed people to work in a flag factory). On our sailing trip with Göran and Saga-Britt, the topic of conversation turned to the tradition of having a flag on deck to show the boat's country of origin... Read more>>>

Inventive inventions #4: the seat belt
08/5/15
So today, I resurrect an old series, Inventive inventions -- things that have been invented by Swedes and/or useful objects whose origin I do not know but nevertheless often figure in Swedish life. So far, I've talked about the cheese slicer, the tetra pack, and taxonomy. Now, I add the seat belt to the list... Read more>>>

Product review # 3
08/3/13
I only seem to be able to do these reviews once every year. But anyway, the purchase for spring is... (drumroll, please)... a yoga mat! We were inspired by Marcus' godparents who, as pensioners, had bought a yoga mat for doing sit-ups and calisthenics... Read more>>>


What's new this week
08/2/27
The 3-week long nationwide book sale started yesterday, and all bookstores are participating, including Swedish-based online bookstores. My book sale damages? Two cookbooks for 99 each, bought from Åhléns (very heavily discounted!). We also got two armchairs that used to belong to Marcus' grandfather... Read more>>>

Like cake, with layers upon layers
08/1/10
This entry is for Cheryl, who requested such an article in time for her upcoming trip to China, where it will be around one degree cold. Her question is: How does one dress for one degree? In the words of my sister -- to whom I reported through e-mail about my first one-degree experience here -- how does one degree even feel like?... Read more>>>

Joy's photo contest number 4
07/6/13
Long time no photo contest! This one I have been meaning to ask for a long time if I only had a good enough picture, so I just shot one today, finally. Today's question: What in the world could these be?... Read more>>>

Two countries, two national days
07/6/7
Yesterday (June 6) was Sweden's National Day, which is actually officially called the Day of the Swedish Flag (Flag Day). Though there were surely holiday celebrations, we had no impulse to check what they were. We thought the bad singing emanating from the school program up the street was bad enough... Read more>>>

Inventive inventions #2: The Tetra Pak
07/04/24
According to observation and statistics, it seems that most Scandinavians drink milk with meals throughout adulthood. Finns reportedly drink 117 liters per capita per year and Swedes (at number 4 in the world's milk consumer list) consume almost 94 liters per capita per year, compared... Read more>>>

Product review # 2
07/03/25
The climates in Sweden have everything from -20 degree winters to +30 degree summers*, which is a bummer from a clothing point of view. (*last year's summer record was 34.2 C in Småland, but it a 21-degree average in the rest of the country. The coldest last winter was -52.6 up... Read more>>>

Inventive inventions #1: Osthyvel
07/03/16
In carpentry, the Swedish word hyvel refers to what we call in English as the "plane," i.e. the block-shaped tool with a sharp blade used to smooth wood and make wood shavings. A shaving razor, on the other hand, is also called a "hyvel" (rakhyvel to be more exact) as it more or less does the same shaving action... Read more>>>

Because you thought Sweden was... Holland?
07/3/2
Sigh. I'm getting tired of writing about food (Okay, not really...) but from now on I will make it a resolution to write more often about the other interesting aspects of life that dosn't involve chewing, munching and digestion-- There are surely many of these other things... Read more>>>

Deck the halls with tomtar
06/12/16
I am tempted to write more about food, as we've just come back from a Julbord (Christmas buffet) with Mats and Margareta. I have to control myself for a while longer before I write about that though. My blog is really starting to look like a foodie blog now--not that that's a bad thing... Read more>>>

Product review # 1
06/10/21
This season's good buy: Viking Play Kid's Line Gore-tex boots. In view of our weekly biking adventures--especially last week's which included a forest hike (see blog entry last Thursday)--we've decided to buy me a pair of waterproof boots good for rainy autumn weather and deep winter snow. Gore-tex boots can actually cost a lot of money... Read more>>>