No moon over Liseberg

Yesterday we continued our tradition of meeting up with people we haven’t seen in 20 years (remember my Spanish sister and LisafromAfrica?). When Jon was a teenager, his family hosted an exchange student from Norway for a year.  Although Jon’s parents have stayed in touch with the family, Jon and Eirik haven’t maintained their relationship (sound familiar??) until now. Eirik, his wife Janne, and their children Philippa and Sina drove from Oslo to Gothenburg yesterday and we spent the day with them at Liseberg amusement park. You might remember Sara’s wardrobe malfunction during our previous visit to Liseberg – if not, you can check that out here. This time we were much better behaved, and had lots of time to catch up with Eirik and see what he’s been doing since high school. He’s done quite well for himself, with a smart and funny wife, 2 gorgeous girls, a job he loves as Assistant Editor-In-Chief of a newspaper’s online division, and a new house in Oslo 3 minutes away from his parents and in-laws. Not bad. We like to think that his time in Orion with Jon’s family set him up for such success, but I guess his own parents had something to do it with it too. Probably. They must have. We’ve been so lucky to have rekindled these relationships, and are looking forward to spending more time with Eirik and his family in the future.

 

Swedish grandparents

This past weekend we were pleased to have Roland and Kerstin as our guests for dinner at “our” house. I decided to make them a typical meal for our family, although I’m not sure how representative it is of how Americans eat. My sister eats like we do, so I guess it counts! The kitchen in this house is separate from the living room, so I wasn’t really able to chat while everyone tried to keep the crostini away from Kerstin’s dog Max.

Luckily I’d made most of the dinner in advance, and only had to cook the pork while they were here. I made an herb and garlic-stuffed pork tenderloin (well, Jon actually prepared the tenderloins for me that morning using herbs from the garden) that I braised with fresh apples and served with an apple cognac reduction. We have pork tenderloin quite a bit at home, and it was fun that they had served us pork as well, Swedish style, so we could compare. I also made a summer wheat berry salad – a new favorite that I discovered in Sweden and adapted for our tastes – and minted peas. We had cheesecake brownies from my beloved David Lebovitz (his recipe is here) that I changed a bit as well. You can’t get chocolate chips in Sweden, so I left them out (David said it was OK), doubled the brownie part, and added a shot of espresso (I didn’t tell him about the espresso, shhhh). In retrospect, I should have skipped one of the eggs too, since the 4th egg made them a bit too custardy without the addition of the chocolate chips. If you make them the way I did, lose the last egg.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time with the kids’ new Swedish grandparents, and are hopeful that they will take us up on the offer to come visit in Florida.

Roland and Kerstin sing the Swedish song – or try to! – to Sara and Sam.

A 5 year old’s perspective on home exchanging…

Sam wanted to write a guest blog for me, so I sat down and asked him a few questions about home exchanging. Ever try to get a 5 year old to write an essay?

What’s the best part about home exchanging? The house and the car.

What place was your favorite? Holland, because of the chicken pen, because I could walk in it and get the chicken out.

Did you ever get the chicken out? Oh, it just walks out.

Did you ever touch the chicken? Yes!

Was it yucky? No, it wasn’t yucky, it was friendly. The chicken just ran out of its cage whenever I came up to it.

Do you remember some of the famous places we’ve visited?  Um, the car and plane museum.

How about in France? Well, the Eiffel Tower. Oh and that restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, it was in the leg.

Which place had the best weather? Holland and Sweden because they were warm.

Tell me about Norway. Norway was the best place because I could go into the igloo.

The igloo? The one in the circle, the roundabout. I know it doesn’t have a sign. I could fall down in the snow.

Was it always snowing in Norway? Yes, but not always.

What did you do in Norway when it wasn’t snowing? I just hanged around. You know about the net? It was the coolest because I could slide down.

Did you ever take a train? Yes!

Where did you go on the train? To the Olympics.

Do you mean Lillehammer? Uh huh. We went down the hill. In a snow mobile.

You mean a sled? Yes, I had brakes and I fell out a few times but it didn’t hurt me.

Were you scared? Yes.

Do you remember any of the pets you took care of? Jet, the cat, he was fun and playful.

Any others? Mira, the cat. I’m going to sing a song. Cat Scratch, catty cat, cat scratch, cat scratch. Boom!

So you can’t remember too much about Norway anymore? Well we builded a dam, I needed to get some huge rocks. I had an idea but we couldn’t use mine idea. We had to have a bungee cord to hook up on the logs, and then we’d hook it and we would sail out. We would put it on the other side of the dam and we would sail out to that area.

Wow! Where would we go? To the sea. We would have food.

Did anyone visit you during your home exchange? Yes, Roland. And Kerstin. Max the dog. Martin and Tina. Auntie and Allie and Uncle John, and Lisa.

Did anyone visit Sara? Grace.

Did anyone visit us in Holland? Grandma.

Do you like doing home exchanges? Yes.

What’s the best part? The Legos.

Knackered!

I’m exhausted. I’m not just sleepy, tired, or even bushed. I’m exhausted in the sense that there’s nothing left. I’ve been fighting this feeling but as we round the corner toward home I’m realizing that home exchanging for 6 months really isn’t the same as living at home for 6 months. No kidding, I know, I know.  At first it was just different, not harder. Most things take an extra level of effort (you know, the language barriers and cultural differences really do get in the way sometimes), and it has begun to take its toll on me. Now the differences just make it harder, and we’re all feeling the pressure. For me, the most challenging part about such a long home exchange is not having any time alone. OK, I lied. It’s not having any time away from Jon and the kids. Before you start writing mean comments to me about how I’m a bad mother, remember that autonomy is a good thing. The kids need other playmates. Jon and I are extremely compatible but sometimes we like to talk to someone else. Just for a minute. So yes, I’m glad to be going home soon, and yes, I am excited for future home exchanges. Just not right away – I need some time to ignore my family first.

Over the river and through the woods…

So the other day on his blog, Jon wrote about the visit to our friend Roland’s summer stuga (click here to catch up), and asked me to talk about the amazing dinner we had.  Our hosts Roland and Kerstin served us a traditional Swedish meal with multiple courses, complete with the customary drink that accompanies each course. We started with matjesill (see above), served with boiled potatoes, sour cream, and chives. Sill is the Swedish word for herring, and this is a specially-seasoned type of herring typically served for Midsummer parties. I was surprised that the herring is cold and the potatoes are hot, but the combination is entirely delicious. Jon and I had seconds and then thirds. Really.

To be totally honest, I hadn’t cared for the fish served at breakfast which I thought had been herring, so I was worried that this would be awful. Apparently the Swedes thought we’d hate it, too. Turns out the breakfast was anchovies, sort of like the boquerones (fried anchovies) we’d had in Spain. There are about 25 thousand bones in one of those bad boys, and they were so disgusting to chew. Crunchy and prickly on my tongue. But anyway, this was the good fish, and it came with a shot of flavored vodka that Roland had made. He’d infused plain vodka with special herbs and spices and then let it steep for a week in preparation for our traditional meal, even giving Sara a glass. It tasted like dirt engulfed in flames. 

Next came a glass of beer while Roland grilled the pork and we made room on the table for round two.  They’d told me that the pork came from the local farmer we’d driven by that afternoon. Since I’m mostly vegetarian, I wasn’t too interested in dinner’s back story, so I might have had two glasses of beer. When the pork was ready they passed around huge bowls of green salad and a potato salad made with apples that Jon said reminded him of his childhood. Roland ducked back to the grill at least one more time to refill the serving platter, and we drank wine and ate lots of potato salad. You know, you start to feel kind of full after eating about 10 potatoes.

Nobody had said Uncle yet, so again we cleared and re-set the table for round three: dessert. Kerstin brought out a cake covered in whipped cream and fresh raspberries that Roland had picked early that morning. We had strong Swedish coffee and Roland poured cordials, asking me if I wanted the kind for the men (Remy Martin) or the one for the women (not Remy Martin). When I said men, he told me he’d been sure of it. How had he known I grew up on that stuff? You know, Q-R-S-T-U-VSOP. Anyway, Jon wasn’t quite able to refuse the Remy, and when nobody was looking he stealthily poured it into the plant. Just kidding, there wasn’t a plant, but he did pour it into his coffee. When Kerstin and her friend Agnette were in the kitchen,the men snuck me some of the drink for the women, which it turns out was a Swedish version of Robitussin. Not good.

We had a wonderful evening with Roland and his friends, and were honored that they had gone to such lengths to show us a true Swedish good time. We’ve invited them to our (!!) house for dinner this week, and then to our real house for a visit to Florida. It’s been such a pleasure to meet Roland, and we hope to stay in touch with him long after we leave Sweden. If I can have Spanish sister, it’s only fair that the kids get a Swedish grandfather, right?

I heart you, blogs, coffee, and Jen Ramos

I wanted to share the great artwork of Jennifer Ramos of MadeByGirl. I had seen her stuff before and really love her blog print (above) which, incidentally, would look great in my bedroom.  I spent some time looking through her work, and her personalized ABC typography print is fantastic. Look!

So now I have a few new items on my ever increasing shopping list for the house, but these prints are truly irresistible. A blue one for Sam’s room, a Christmas gift for my niece Allie, and this would make an excellent gift for a new baby (no, Mom, I’m not pregnant). I like the idea of giving one as a wedding preset, with the venue name or the honeymoon location. Belcourt Castle, Bermuda, St.Lucia, Montreal. The possibilities baffle me! You know you want to buy one…I mean two.

Even babies love blogs...

Check out my talented niece Allie reading this blog!

Is this table palatable?

Jon and I have been talking lately about updating our outdoor space when we get home so that we can enjoy our pool and lanai area more. We have a great grill and want to figure out better seating and some shade options for outdoor dining. I am still mulling over what do do about a daybed (click here for my ideas) but I really like the idea of a large, inexpensive table that could double as a coffee table and play table for Sam. I found this one over at Bodie and Fou and although Jon isn’t really a fan of this look, I think it would be a fun project…and practically free.  We’d just get a pallet from Home Depot for free, buy some casters and a can or two of waterproof, outdoor spray paint. Just sand, spray, and spin. What do you think?

Oats, Peas, Barley Grow…

Today on Re-Nest I saw a link to this story about a community garden in my old home town of Providence, RI. Aside from being captivated by the beautiful images of photographer Lucas Foglia, I was also thinking that if we still lived in Providence, this would be a great volunteer opportunity for my kids. Surely my sister would be into it – she inherited the green thumb from our mother. I am so bad with plants that once they gave me a houseplant with a  care tag that read Microwave for 30 seconds until totally dead. What a couple of comedians. Click here to read the article via Good Magazine, and here to learn more about the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI.

image: Lucas Foglia

‘Tis a gift to be simple

Sometimes the things I learn aren’t at all what I was expecting. Such is the case with this 6 month home exchange. Sure, I thought I’d learn a bit about myself but never realized how much I would want to change once we got home. It started in Norway, where life was much slower and simpler, and I had to re-learn my love for cooking. I didn’t have a choice – there were only a few restaurants and we couldn’t afford to go to them, anyway. I made tons of soups, stews, and started baking desserts almost every night. Did I mention I love to eat? I also realized how much I enjoy being outdoors, and that I want my exercise the old fashioned way – from fun. I just don’t like working out, but I will hike for hours and be very happy.

In Holland I discovered my love for biking, and getting my bike up to Dutch standards is first on my list for when we return. No more driving the car to the grocery store that’s a mile away – how ridiculous. Here in Sweden I reconnected with my old friend LisafromAfrica who confirmed everything I’d been thinking. Yes, we can bake our own bread (she does) and sure, it’s easy to grow herbs and vegetables in our own garden (well, they have a gardener, so I took this one with a grain of salt). We should teach our kids to use what we have, not what we would like to have – for us this means joining a CSA and getting locally grown, seasonal produce. I’m done with my fancy, huge, difficult-to-clean toaster oven, and am replacing it with a sturdy toaster that fits bagels for Jon.  I’d even been too busy to read to my kids (I know, this one is bad), and I recently dove back in thanks to Kindle books on Jon’s iPod. Surprisingly, I really miss yoga, so that is also going to be a priority for me, too. This has definitely been an inspiring trip. There is no time like now to live in the present.

Ooh ooh, that smell…

It’s too bad you can’t smell my fingers. Hey! That’s not what I mean. My hands actually smell like fresh herbs that Jon and I picked from our exchange garden and turned into an herb and garlic stuffing for tonight’s pork tenderloin. It struck me as rather hilarious that the herbs we found outside were parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Oh, and chives, but that doesn’t fit into the song. As were were washing and chopping, I realized that I’d been too busy back in the States and hadn’t been able to slow down enough to appreciate the small things that make me happy. The smell of fresh herbs on my skin is something I remember my mother teaching me about when I was Sam’s age, and it still makes me feel relaxed and centered. I must have passed it down to my kids without realizing it, as I just dug Sam’s old sprig of lavender out of my purse yesterday. He’d found it when we went to Styrsö and had rubbed on all of our hands and arms to make lavender perfume. One thing that’s been blaringly obvious on this home exchange is that I need to slow down. Life really is too short to spend it in a blur.

Morötter Kakan

When LisafromAfrica was here earlier this week, we ate lunch at Cafeva on the adorable, cobblestoned Haga Nygata in Gothenburg. They are one of many small cafes on Haga Nygata that offer a dagens lunch – a few different specials of the day for competitive price, sometimes with a soft drink or coffee. We chose Cafeva because of the interesting choices – feta and spinach quiche, vegetable lasagne, and spicy vegetarian Thai soup are just a few, and the food was excellent. I was determined to try the delicious-smelling carrot cake that was baking (and not ready!) while we were there, so we returned the next day and it was so good that Sara asked for the recipe. To my surprise, they handed her their recipe book and let her copy it down. In Swedish. Here is my version, adapted from theirs. Enjoy! (This recipe yields 2 cakes).

Morötter Kakan, adapted from Cafeva in Gothenburg

For the cakes:

6 eggs 

2½ cups granulated sugar

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp good quality vanilla extract, such as Nielsen Massey

9¾ ounces vegetable oil

3¾ cups grated, peeled carrots

 

For the frosting:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese at room temperature

7 tbsp butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp good quality vanilla extract, such as Nielsen Massey

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 2 Bundt pans with parchment or wax paper, and grease the paper (or spray with non-stick spray).
3. In a mixing bowl, cream together the eggs and granulated sugar.
4. Add the dry ingredients and fold them into the egg/sugar mixture. Don’t stir, or the cake will be tough.
5. Add the grated carrot and fold it into the mixture. Don’t stir!
6. Pour batter into the 2 prepared pans and bake for approximately 45 minutes, until the top is set and a tester comes out dry.
7. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whip together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth and blended. Note: this works best in an electric mixer on high speed using a whisk attachment
8. Once the cakes are cool, top with frosting.

 

Who doesn’t want a safari condo??

By now you know about my love for all things mini, especially mini houses and campers, so I had to show you the cool Alto 1713 from Safari Condo (don’t you just adore that name?) that I just discovered. It’s bigger than the SylvanSport (which you can read about here) but still under 2,000 pounds so it’s towable by a normal car. My car. The Alto has a king sized bed plus an additional twin bed, a small but efficient kitchen, and a private toilet.  Aside from its cool retractable roof, there are some optional features that turn this bad boy into the ultimate, well, safari condo. We can add the additional pullman bed for Sam, the extra screened room, and the of course bike rack. With the 2 optional solar panels we’d be styling.  At around $20K, this is a great option to have if we ever decide to downsize. We could live in it – could you?

I couldn’t be that old!

Today we drove my friend LisafromAfrica back to the airport. She had been in the UK to complete her PhD (!!) in Public Health and decided she could swing a quick trip to Gothenburg to see me. It’s been 17 years, after all. The last time we saw each other, I was still working at the restaurant where we’d met, and she was in the States visiting her parents.  We’d had dinner with my boyfriend at the time, and she told us how she had decided to stay in Zimbabwe after her year-long volunteer contract had ended because she loved the work and, well, she had met someone. Cut to now, and we’ve done a lot! Between us we have 9 years of graduate school, 2 husbands, 4 children, 2 step children, 3 major career changes, 24 chickens, 2 belly scars, 3 swimming pools, 81 years of life experience, and a hell of a lot of good stories.  We talked as fast as we could, barely stopping to eat, and have vowed not to let another 17 years pass before we see each other again. Yet another perk of home exchanging.

 

Google Maps, Google Earth, Google rugs?

Quick! What’s this a picture of?

If you said it’s a satellite view of my neighborhood from Google Maps, you’d be…wrong. A suburb seen from the sky via Google Earth? Nope.

It’s a rug.

Actually, it’s part of a 6-tile rug kit from Flor, called – wait for it – Be My Neighbor.  For $149, you get the 6 tiles to create a seamless landscape made from plush cropped velvet. Buy 2 or 3 more kits and go crazy. Won’t you please, won’t you please?

Come on baby make it Styrsö good…

While my friend LisafromAfrica was visiting us all the way from Zimbabwe, we took a trip out to the archipelago island of Styrsö. At first glance it seemed that no cars were allowed on the small island, and that the only modes of transport were bikes, mopeds, and golf carts. We saw many people on motorized (!!) versions of my beloved bakfiets, mostly older gents hauling building supplies and the like. The majority of the mopeds were standard issue – people didn’t get too creative with them – but I did find one that cracked me up. Check it out:

I just can’t get into this one. Maybe it’s the motorized aspect, maybe it’s the DIY-ish pallet box for cargo, I don’t know. What do you think: yay or nay?

Oh beautiful for…

 

Happy 4th of July, everyone. 

image: fg-a.com

1191 views!

As of today, there have been 1191 views of our listing on HomeExchange.com (click here to check it out)!! I’m sure that some of those clicks have been from family and friends, and even from us when we edit our listing, but it’s safe to say that at least a few hundred people have seen it. It’s even possible that 1,000 people have seen it. One thousand people. That’s pretty cool.

Now that we’ve been living in someone else’s house for 5 months, we’re all getting a bit homesick, especially Jon and Sara. They both live with this underlying uneasiness that something could break, spill, or get busted up somehow, so they never manage to totally relax. Sam and I don’t think about it too much, so we’re less stressed and, consequently, less homesick. If it happens, we’ll fix it…but I don’t dwell on it. I think what I miss the most is the comfort and ease of my own language, or even my second language. It’s hard when I can’t keep up.  I am glad that we’re headed back to our real home, but you know what? I have lots of stamina for home exchange and could stay traveling for many more months. I would just have to bring along my new pool.

Sara meets Sara

The other day we went for a walk with my sister and her family and decided to look for the yaks that lived nearby. Well they weren’t in fact yaks (who the hell knows what a yak looks like, anyway?!), but rather Highland cattle that live in a nature preserve a few minutes away from our place. Luckily we ran across a woman tending the cattle who could answer some of our questions, but she didn’t speak any English and Sara became our translator. We leaned that these cattle came from Scotland with the woman’s grandfather, and that there are 2 newborns, 9 weeks and 11 weeks old! The kids loved to watch the woman give them a drink by spraying water in their mouths with a squirt bottle. It was so cool to watch Sara speak Swedish with the woman and then translate for us – very impressive! The best part was that there is even a cow named Sara. I wonder if she is better behaved than my Sara. Hmmm.