Ok, so I admit I'm a little late with this one, but don't they always say better late than never?  Easter was a good time.  We hung our pine tree with colored feather, painted eggs, made Easter ornaments and had a big lamb dinner with the grandparents.  Oh, and of course, there was lots of candy.  There was a candy trail left for both of the kids (the Easter bunny is quite enterprising isn't he?) And they were so excited!  Kajsa most of all.  Then off to the playground to work off some of the sugar before Easter dinner.

So I know you're all waiting with baited bref to find out how my bidness trip went last week. Well it was all so pleasant but nothing really concrete came of it. Seems like the ides was I would just go off and sell in US willy-nilly like. Well, ok, but.... not sure about dat, and def not going to buy before I sell. Commission baby, thinking that's best. So I put that out there to the powers that be, and will see what they say.

In the meantime here are the top 10 highlights of the trip to Borås :
10. Got to see more of the "pine forest that is Sweden" - Bill Bryson (Well at least day 2 when it wasn't so foggy.)
9. There was a moose by the side of the road - alive - not every day you see that, unless you live in Maine I guess
8. Went to Borås for the first time where I heard some rocking 80s tunes at a pub for the first time since the 80s
7. Free breakfast, er hm, sort of stolen, not purposefully but still
6. Visited Båstad on the way back, a very pretty town on the water
5. Learned about MMF rugs in said Båstad, dare I call it an ol' timey rug factory? Beautiful work on real wood looms
4. Got two whole days to myself, to think, plan and see new things, and to get bored of myself, thoughts, etc.
3. Saw my old friend Anders at his "new old" cafe ( from 1650 very cool!)
2. Sheepskin people were interested to meet with me. The marketing director gave me a full hour, and I even got to speak with the VP and President. Impressed by Miss T or not enough to do? :-)
1. My family really missed me, and I missed them. Nothing better than coming home to that!
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On the 21st I'm meeting with some gentlemen in Svenljunga regarding selling their product in America.  I am considering putting it on their on a website, and possibly selling at conventions and to small boutiques or interior designers.  I am quite nervous and excited.  I've been reading everything from taxes to customs to web stores and international distributors and more.  Also I have been reading about sheepskins.  Did you know that sheepskins naturally contain lanolin which make them gentle to the skin and are commonly used with infants and invalids?  Did you know that they keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer?  Also did you realize that you can throw them in the washing machine and that are easy to take care of?  They're an all natural product that bring a level of comfort and coziness to your home.  OK, so I guess I let the cat out of the bag - the product is sheepskins and sheepskin home decor products like pillows and puffs.  So, what do you think?  I'd love to hear if you like them, use them or hate them and why.  Thanks!

This is David. He likes beer, cheese and books. (He likes fish and chips too.) He likes places where you can get these things so he likes London. This is Tina. She likes David so she bought two tickets to London (99 krones on Ryanair!) David waits at the airport. (Lots of waiting but what did you expect for 99 krones?) Our hosts are the fabulous Frews. They are just back from vacation. (They are sporty and nice.)

Now David is in London. He drinks beer and he looks for books. He gets confused because he drank so much beer. He finds Waterstones. It's not by the big plane. He buy books. Then we get tired of so much walking. London is big! So we get a massage. (No, not that type of massage! This is a kids story,remember?) We eat Indian food, yum, yum. We go to a play. It is a real play, with real people, not a movie. Can you believe it? David likes it! David stays awake! Three cheers for David!

We have to go home. London was fun. Thank you for the tickets Dad. Thank you Frews. Thank you Ryanair. Goodnight David. Sleep tight. I love you.
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First, London.  Love it!  So much fun to be there with my anglophile husband and enjoy the sights without the mini Woodgers.  For three days we caught up with the friendly Frews, enjoyed London Bridge and environs, soaked up beer and Indian food, and saw "The Ladykillers" a play at the Gielgud.  We also spent an inordinate amount of time at the Stansted airport standing in various lines, but that's what you get for a 99 krone one way ticket.

Second L, Lukas!  10 years old now and full of fun.  We had an extended party weekend with first presents in bed, cake with M+M, laser-tag with friend Nils (and swimming in Malmö with just us) capped off with an at-home party for 5 boys and 2 girls.  Talk about lucky, the weather proved perfect for some obstacle course running in the back yard which was great for some sugar hopped up boys.  It almost felt like spring.  Lucky Lukas got lots of legos and a trip to Lego Land from proud parents to look forward to in April.  Billund, Denmark here we come!  Ten year old Luke, and sissy will love it!

I said three L's and the third is the greatest of all - love.  Love my husband, our extended family, our kids, and friends for rallying around Lukas and inviting us to London.  February is a lovely month indeed, and I don't mean Valentine's Day.  :-)

Well I'm exaggerating but at least there is snow on the ground and it makes things white and pretty. There's been a real cold snap for a while so we've enjoyed the wood burning fireplace, but the snow adds another dimension of fluffiness and finery to the woods around us. So cozy in our little cottage. Lukas has been skating with his class, and Kajsa aced the "Barnens Vasalopp" (cross country skiing) but David and I have mainly excelled at making hot chocolate and sitting by the fire. Sweden is a nice place for Aquarians. I feel like I get plenty of time to reflect and enjoy the beauty around us. The US is all about going, and getting, and excelling and just doing it (very Aries, am I right Chris?) Here I like feeling like I can go gung-ho and then rest, take a little breather and figure out the next step without plunging willy-nilly into the next to-do. That's what I'm doing this year, resting, then working, and figuring it out as I do it best by feeling my way forward. Of course the analytical plan needs to be done, and all that left brain stuff, and I will do it! But for right now sitting in our cottage, listening to the crackling fire and the kids play, I am quite content. Peace.
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Scandinavian's largest interior design fair was an amazing experience. Those more jaded refer to Milan and Frankfurt where they have over 4000 exhibitors but for my friend Christina and I 850 booths was plenty - thank you very much. The exhibitors had decorated their booths so you could step into their world of design and be inspired. Even if the booth was small, like my friend Kajsa's, it was laid out so well with thought to form, space, light that you wanted to stay. None of the chintsy giveaways common to US fairs but rather a chance to meet, greet, enjoy a glass of wine or candy and exhange business cards. I pulled off a pretty good impression of power broker and managed to get some excellent information on trends, prices and products. Am now in love with Swedish metal chandeliers and lambskins plus everthing from Lappland, which conjures up such a romantic vision of snow, sky, trees and natural furs. Trying to decide how to get involved professionally possibly merging my interest in Sweden with my skills in marketing and interest in design. I have brainstormed ideas for a while but seeing that there is such talent out there and a large untapped market in the US, helps me believe that this dream could come true. Here are some pictures of the exhibition that don't do it justice.  One of my newest friend, Christina, helped make this trip happen. She arranged for us to stay at her sister's house which was a treat as her family is very welcoming and fun. Luckily I was also able to see one of my "oldest" friends too and meet up with her in Stockholm for a delicious diner of tiny mussels. Lena, it was wonderful to catch up with you!
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Just got back from a sunny week in Lanzarote, a desert island in the Grand Canary Islands, close to Africa. We enjoyed exploring the island, getting some warm sunshine, and the New Years Eve celebration. My favorite visit was seeing the Cesar Manique Fundacion on the northern part of the island. Http://www.cesarmanrique.com. It's a former swinging 60's bachelor pad turned into a museum. Loved the creative use of the lava fields, the feel of it, and imagining going to a cool party there. ;-) But a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll let some pictures do the talking... lots of pictures.
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This year my Christmas wishes all came true. Thanks to my handsome husband, courageous kids, helpful parents and reliable renters my dream of "coming home" to Sweden for a year came true. The wishes I secretly held for the holiday season also happened, so effortlessly it seemed almost magical.

First we baked, filling the house with good smells - sugar cookies, gingerbread, cardamon buns, cinamon buns, more sugar cookies and 55 saffron buns for Lucia! Then we decorated - David refused to spend Christmas without a tree and right he was! We got one and decorated it with handmade decorations, cookie ornaments, and some special borrowed finery from my mother and it looked prettier than many in the magazines. I had wanted to go to a "Julmarknad" (Christmas market) so off we went in old Chipster (the red Ford we're borrowing) to a market at a castle. With glögg, a nice chill in the air, Tomte (Santa) giving gifts, and burnt sugar almonds it couldn't have been better, or more picturesque. We even caught a market in Skanör with some wonderful singing, and one at Lorensdahl with special crafts that my mother and I oogled. And we made it to the Tivoli (www.Tivoligardens.com) in Copenhagen!

Speaking of singing, there's lots of it at this time of the year and I enjoyed it all. Reliving the songs of my childhood in church got me all choked up, and singing on Christmas Eve with my family was a longheld dream that didn't disappoint. Lukas even did some interpretative dancing! Kajsa let me lead her in a very special mother-daughter dance that brings tears to my eyes as I remember how beautiful and serious she looked. My mother took us to "Nalles Jul", a Christmas show for children given by the Malmö Symphony which was spectacular, and the kids and I saw Granen (The Little Fir Tree) by HC Andersen, so culture was not missed. Of course the Christmas season here is heralded by Santa Lucia and I enjoyed watching the kids in Luke's class doing it instead of me. :-) It was important to me too that our children be exposed to this part of the Swedish culture which is so meaningful to me, and learn the songs.

I was also so pleased by the amount of invitations we got to celebrate XMAS. Emma and Niklas, Eva and William, Anna and Tomas, Lotta and Carl-Henrik, and Jan and Marie, were all kind enough to have us over or celebrate with us and the children. This was quite an added and unexpected bonus because although I was sure we'd have fun family times (which we also did at Charlottes, Emmas, Ritas and my moms) I hadn't thought we would have friends to party with so soon after getting here. And Woodge and I always love a party. Also Christmas Eve at Mamma and Willys was so fun and delicious, just perfectly planned and orchestrated, but unfortunate that Willy missed Tomte's visit. ;-)

There's just too much to relay and so many pictures to download that I can't get it all down, but I can say that I am so happy and thankful for this Christmas although we missed our loved ones at home. The presents under the tree were the cherry on the top of what was already amemorable time. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well.

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