Days 276-277: Gothenburg

Hotel within the Central Station. Tram lines. Local dialect that takes some getting used to. Tap water that tastes of minerals. Long walks across bridges. And best of all, the opening night of A Chorus Line directed by Assassins former assistant director in the company of two other former Assassins. Then an entire day today strolling around the city, fika in a charming local café. And now, the train back to Stockholm. Pretty darn nice way to spend a couple of days.

Day 275: Musicals

What could be more appropriate company to see Les Misérables with than a group from Assassins? And to cap the evening off by watching parts of the video of our production of Assassins together?

One-and-a-half musicals in one evening...now that's a happy day!

Day 274: An embarrassment of riches?

No such thing when it comes to plastic storage containers!

I've been passing this display at the local supermarket for weeks now, always resisting the urge to buy because, truly, I have my share of plastic containers at home. Still, it hasn't been easy, especially since there are a variety of shapes and sizes in my favorite color (turquoise) and they cost only 10 kronor (about one-and-a-half dollars or less than one euro) a piece.

Now that I still have more than two quarts/liters of chicken soup left after sharing with friends and eating myself, I decided I'd better freeze some. Guess what? I discovered that I really did not have the appropriate size container for soup. All of mine are too small. Joy of joys...I get to buy some after all!

All good things do come to those who wait! ;-)

Day 273: All's well that ends well

A pair of torn up theater tickets cannot be the source of happiness. Or can they? A friend and I were all set to go to Stadsteatern this evening and see From Sammy with Love, a tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. starring two of Sweden's most renowned entertainers. At eleven o'clock this morning, I received a text message from the theater informing me that tonight's performance had been canceled due to illness. Disappointment! We had so been looking forward to this production and there was only one more performance left for this season and that performance is sold out.

Oh, well. At least it returns in the fall. We decided to take the bull by the horns and reserve our tickets now. As it is, we could not get seats together. The fall performances are almost sold out already. No matter. Go we shall. Then I discovered that I could pay for the new tickets by entering the ticket numbers from the old tickets online. How convenient is that?! To make matters even better, while I was online I happened to notice that the show's choreographer is David Dalmo who a) was a founding member of Sweden's hottest street dance group Bounce and b) I've known for many years from the world of Lindy hop where he had his dancing debut. So exciting!

You just never know how things will work out. What started as a disappointing day turned out to have a happy ending.

Day 272: Rings upon the water

About once a month, a group of women associated with the Chabad movement here in Stockholm arrange a women's evening. The themes vary and I make it a point to attend as often as I can. Last night, there was a guest speaker, a researcher who presented a bit of his work on stress and humor. He was a good speaker, passionate about his subject matter, considerate and sensitive to his audience.

I entered the building at the same time as another woman who recognized and greeted me. As we walked together, she told me that I had inspired her with the story of this blog (which I'd mentioned at a similar meeting last fall). She'd started writing the very next day, she said, and has kept it up ever since. She told me how finding something positive or joyful to write about every day has enriched her life. How she sometimes flips back through the entries and appreciates the record of happy moments that her blog has become.

Rings upon the water...paying it forward...call it what you will, it made me feel so warm inside.

Day 271: Overabundance

Am I alone or do toiletries seem to collect in your bathroom too? Lotions, creams, soaps, shampoo, toothpaste...you name it and I seem to have multiple bottles, tubes and jars of it all on my bathroom shelves. Some are gifts from well meaning friends (or maybe they're trying to tell me something???). Others I purchased myself during my travels when I inevitably forgot to bring some along. Still others are the products I actually use. If I were never to buy another hand cream ever again, I think I'd still have enough to last me a couple of lifetimes!

I saw a post on FB that a local soup kitchen for the homeless was being held at a nearby park today. Among the items that they specifically stated they have a need for were toiletries! At last, I had something useful to do with all those extra bottles. It made me truly happy to take a walk over to the park and hand over the goods. Right behind me was a greasy haired man who immediately asked the volunteer I'd given my stuff to if he could have some shampoo. :-)

We often hear of food drives or clothes drives or even toy drives to help the needy. Until recently, it hadn't occurred to me that items such as toiletries, tampons, razors, tissues and so on are also sorely needed. Not the stuff you'd think of immediately but it sure makes sense.