Day 325b: We're off, we are...

325a
Not exactly champagne and caviar if you catch my drift. Equally enchanting not doubt, Being good isn't good enough (Sånger om längtan...songs about longing) with the ever wonderful Johan Rudebeck at Café Tjärlek. Four o'clock if you care to join.

Update coming afterwards...'cause this is for sure today's happy :-)

325b

And a report after. Fiaf, Jacque Brel, Hasse o Tage, Kander and more in the most charming café ever! Go Johan and Eric.

(Note to self: have a party at this café! Soon.)

One sings...

...the other plays...

...in the coziest café ever!

Day 324: (Still) Gotta love those Swedes

Today is gray, gray, gray. Reminds me a lot of my first visit to Sweden in 1991. It was also April and the weather was chilly, overcast and damp, just like today. But I made lunch plans with a friend near her place of work and was determined to walk the 5.2 kilometer there, rain or shine.

Along the way, I passed a number of different daycare and school classes taking an excursion. It's the cutest sight. The really young kids are dressed in reflective vests and hold on to each other or the teacher or the stroller if there is one. They look something like this:

Today, for the first time, I noticed the very clever "walking rope" for children who are a bit older It functions to keep the kids together and connected to the teacher at the same time. It is a length of rope with evenly spaced handles. Each child grabs hold of a handle while the teacher grabs the front of the rope, and off they go. The advantage over holding hands is the contact between the kids and the adults (there are typically two, one at the head of the line and another at the end). Here is what it looks like in action:

Clever, no?

Day 323: Popularity

On Sunday, it will be that time of month again. No, it's not what you're thinking (been there, done that, doing it no more...hey, another reason to be happy!). No, it's Board Games...Yeah! on Sunday.

I organize these event via Meetup and have done for several years now, limiting attendance to 12 people, which is who many I can comfortably accommodate in my apartment. It's a good number too for playing. We can split up into two or three groups and switch around during the afternoon.

Nowadays, the event always has a waiting list. So I sent out a mail to the people who registered, including those on the waiting list, asking them to change their RSVP to No if for some reason they cannot make it. To my surprise, over the next two days, the waiting list got longer. Tickles me pink that these events are so popular.

Let the games begin!

Day 322: Statistics

Never before have I been as excited to get an update from the Apple App store! Today's Wordfeud update features game statistics! That is music to the ears of a math nerd like me. And they are well designed stats too. You can see your wins, losses, etc. for each language and board combination that you play. These stats only cover games that were started on February 16 or later.

Here's what I discovered:

• I play a lot of Wordfeud (OK, I already knew that but I put it at the top of the list so that you won't have to comment :-))
• My percentage win rate in English (83%) is only slightly better than in Swedish (78%)
• I resign very few games, and those I do are never because I am losing
• It is easier (for me?) to score high points and to make 7-letter words in English than in Swedish

But anyway, see for yourself...oh, and do send me a game invitation if you want to play. My username is OdellaBella.

Day 321: Commuter no more

With the best of intentions, I set my alarm bright and early so that I would have time to walk to my dentist's office for today's 8 AM appointment. And then the snooze function popped up. Four times. There went my walk. Fortunately, Stockholm has a great transportation system and the subway got me there in time.

It's been a very long time since I've ridden the subway at that time of morning. As I was being squeezed by morning commuters I found myself thinking how glad I am to no longer be doing this every morning. Perhaps that was the whole meaning of the snooze function...to bring me to this realization.

The 4 kilometer walk home was all the more delightful!

Day 320: Jewish penicillin

Lunch

The wonders of FB. My neighbor posts that she's come down with a bad cold. I comment that I have homemade chicken soup to help her get better. And so it is! A batch of "Jewish penicillin" on its way next door. Perfect way to commemorate the Shoah and help a friend and neighbor. Plus, I got to eat some for lunch too :-)

Care package

Day 319: Singin' in the rain

One of the absolute best inventions ever is the headphones. As I marched off to the Language Café to try and revive my long-lost French, I put in my ear buds, turned on Spotify and walked to Gamla Stan singing the entire way. Singing makes me happy. The look on people's faces as I walk down the street singing out loud is priceless. I do it without ear buds too but have to admit to a certain freedom and pleasure with them in. For one thing, I'm surrounded by music. For another, I can't hear myself which means I'm not inhibited and can sing with gusto. Mind you, I'm fairly certain I'm singing on key, but I know I don't sound quite as loud or as good as inside those ear buds.

And the rain? It was actually sleet. None of it stuck but we are all beginning to feel that spring has simply gone on strike. Hey, but what do I care? I'm singing.