Sue's purchases and travels

Last night I was ready to switch off the TV when I heard, "House Hunters International sets sail for the windy coastal town of Fredrikstad Norway." Well...so much for going to bed! The episode showed a family who lived in Kansas but was moving to the husbands homeland, Norway. (These photos from one of our trips to Norway could be entitiled "We're not inKansas anymore!)The TV did a great job of making the wife seem obnoxious and overbearing as they continually showed her asking if the houses had AC or Garbage disposals, which none did. As I started to write this, I came across the blog of Tressa,the aforementioned American wife. She apparently received a lot of hate mail from the episode. In the blog she says that she was coached by the producers to ask for a garbage disposal at each house they saw. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised-if everyone loved everything about every house they saw there wouldn't be much of a show. I would still, despite this revelation of the staged portions of the show, encourage you to look for the episode. The sights of Norway are breathtaking as are the photos on Tressa's blog about being an American in Norway. (just google Tress in Norway and you will find it) We don't get to Norway very often but do find a number of charming Norwegian tin pieces on our shopping expeditions and, of course, carry the yummy Norwegian chocolate, Firklover. And Klaradal has Air conditioning and a garbage disposal! Stop by!

When Peter and I first visited Drottinholms Slott (Former Summer Palace now year round home to the Swedish Royal Family) I remember being so charmed by the ornate gold furniture which had been covered with simple cotton check slip covers for summer. It exuded a wonderful message about the importance of summer, and comfort, and (even though it covered gilded carved wood) simplicity to the Swedish people. This year we toured the Royal Apartment at the Royal Palace and I saw the same darling slip covers on various Gustavian and Empire pieces. This time the fabric was striped rather than checked but still the cool summer look of cotton.

Today I wanted to search some photos of Drottingholms slott (The summer palace) and came upon a really fun U-Tube piece about Queen Silivia. It is apparently some clips from a German film that was done about her. (She is originally German) It has fun footage of the royal family and then really sweet shots of when Silvia and the King were dating--they both look so young! (She looks so much like Ali MacGraw in Love Story) It finishes with a clip of Abba performing Dancing Queen for the royal couple...apparently for the first time. Check it out....Majestat!: Silvia of Sweden-I watched the 3 minute version but there are longer ones also. Today is my day off from the shop so, aside from a little laundry, I plan to treat myself to a royal day of nothingness...reading and relaxing....ahhh!

As we finish off this weekend and all midsummer celebrations I find myself yearning, once again, for the serenity of an evening at Klaradal----not the shop but the original country house for which my little store is named. These photos were taken in 2009...I am seated at the door to the dining room (which is always kept wide open) enjoying a book as I listen to the sounds of nature. The flowers in the middle are just a sample of the wonderful blossoms that grow along the road to Klaradal. This lovely, meandering gravel road has multitudes of lupine, birch and even lingonberries to delight the senses. Klaradal means "Clear Valley" and was the name of the house when Peter's cousin bought it....but Klaradal, for us, means so much more than that: Serenity,nature, summer, relaxation, sunshine, and family. The happy memories of playing darts against the barn door, swimming in the lake, playing "grandmother's card game", sipping margaritas, harvesting potatoes for dinner, picking berries for homemade saft, finding "Griffin" the neighbor cat sleeping on our bed, or dancing through the kitchen to the music of Glen Miller...they all add up to the perfect experience we love and call: Klaradal!

The Nordic Days Menu at DC Coast was incredible! When we were seated and when we chose the special Norwegian menu the waiter pointed out to us the young chef hovering in the back. Peter and I introduced ourselves to him and, I couldn't resist posing for a photo. Geir Skeie "cooks as good as he looks!" (Excuse my poor grammer!) We started with a sensational scallop appetizer, followed by a cod dish (shown above), then a heavenly halibut dish all topped off by a seasonally perfect fresh strawberry and rhubarb dessert. This young, 28 year old award winning chef, has a restaurant located about 2 hours outside of Oslo. Rest assured, our next visit to Norway will include a dinner with Geir Skeie! Skal!

Swedes love to sing! When we travel there in summer we often see, on TV, sing alongs filmed at Skandisk. It's quite reminiscent of the old Mitch Miller shows when everyone sat at home singing old favorites while following the bouncing ball. When we were at Skansen on National Day this year we experienced a little bit of that. Everyone, of course, sang along to the national anthem but they also sang along with a fun song called Juni, Juli and August. It, apparently is Sweden's version of an upbeat summer song such as the type done by our beach boys. Tonight I found the Juni, Juli...song on I-tunes and downloaded the entire album. The version I found is by a group called Gyllene Tyder. They have a number of songs which I plan to add to the Klaradal song list such as Sommartider and Smastad. Pop by this weekend, enjoy the music, sip a Klaradalitan, and check out all that is new at Klaradal.

On this rainy Monday in Maryland I would like nothing more than to enjoy (as this little girl is) a warm Cinnamon Bun followed by a walk down a birch lined lane. My one regret from this most recent trip to Sweden is that I brought too much of my American rush rush rush side and didn't take time to enjoy the quiet days Sweden has to offer. I still remember, on our first visit to Sweden in the 1990's, commenting to our cousin that his car didn't have cup holders. He asked why he'd want those and I said...to drink coffee while driving to work. He responded: Why would I want to drink coffee in the car? --I soon learned that Swedes don't rush their coffee! I can't tell you how hard it is for me, when I am traveling on my own, to force myself to STOP, sit down, and enjoy a cup of coffee. They now offer..."To Go Cups" but the cafes in Stockholm are still crowded with people enjoying the moment. Let's hope they continue to stop and smell the cinnmaon bun!

These two photos express what I desire today as I fight a nasty cold, probably caught on the plane (Lots babies with running noses and sneezing adults!) The tea house sign is from a small street in Gothenburg near their big sale hall. Hot tea with honey is my drink of the day! The photo of the chair with blankets is from our hotel in Kalmar but a common sight at every Scandinavian restuarant. The evenings can be so chilly...that restaurants supply blankets to keep patrons warm and happy! I'm warm...and will be happy when I feel better!

We spent our last vacation day in Gothenburg Sweden which I will write about later this week. For now I am just happy to be home and find it especially fitting to have my first full day be Flag day! We saw so many people flying the Swedish flag...it's nice to see the same love of country in OUR homeland. Today I need to focus on unpacking not just my clothes but those items I purchased for the shop. Most were left to be packed in the container for shipment next week but a few were special enough (and small enough) to make it home with me. They will be revealed this Saturday at our midsommer celebration!

Last night was a summer party celebrating Peter's cousin Jaak's 75th birthday. There were 94 invited guests and most everyone came by chartered bus or taxi. ( This is a relatively common custom in Sweden where there is zero tolerance for drinking and driving...as in you cannot have a trace of alcohol in your system if stopped by police.) To make the party a little more interesting Jaak and his wife, Wenche, planned entertainment between each course. They also had all gentlemen at the tables move 2 spots to the right...allowing the ladies to have a new dinner partner with each change. All of this made a fantastic party doubly good! I've included photos of 2 of the enteratiners...a cute duo of young woman who performmed Abba songs and a fabulous Elvis impersonator...(or was it? He looked like the real thing!) It was a great evening and we all, at 1:30, piled onto our buses for the journey back to our hotel...the road was gravel covered, winding, and realitively dark-I was glad that, even though sober, I didn't have to drive home. It was an uneventful trip (thankfully!) except for the crossing of a couple of hares....quite unlike what we see at home-more like a jack rabbit-that hopped off into the high grass and lupines at the edge of the road.

We drove from Kalmar over a very long bridge to the island of Orland. It's a bit like Gotland but without the walled city. Those who have been to Ireland would find a similarity with this island--lots of green--lots of sheep--lots of stone walls and, unfortunately, lots of rain. We wondered around the town a bit-found a red cross second hand store (just bought one pink woven cloth which has a tag from, what I believe, must be Ekelund before it was called that) and had lunch where the locals eat. The lunch menu included entree, bread, herring, beverage, cookies and coffee. We chose beer for lunch and were surprised to learn it was an included beverage. We shouldn't have been surprised because it is a very common lunch beverage...even little old ladies can be found sipping a foamy ale. We returned to Kalmar in time for an early dinner, a call to David (who is in the midst of exams) and then early to bed. We now travel to the cousins' party location where...most likely...there will not be internet so...I will write again on Sunday evening.

Peter and I headed out today at 9:00 dressed in yellow and blue for National Day. Our first step was the royal palace where Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel were to officially open "National Day" The crowd was somewhat large but not by DC standards....We arrived 15 minutes before the event and were just 4 people back in line. I didn't have a great vantage point for photos but did get a few by holding my camera over my head. After the Royal Couple went back into the castle the doors were open and all invited in to tour for free. I wandered into the courtyard where, lo and behold, a children's choir was singing and there was the Royal couple...up close and personal - as you can see by my photo. They soon went inside and Peter and I toured the rest of the outdoor events. They had a special needs band playing rock n roll (Peter and I were one of two couples dancing) They also had a display of the only two "Old" Royal cars: The 1950 Daimler the couple rode in on their wedding day(The driver opened the door and let Peter feel the upholstery!) and a 1969 Cadillac. This was the most popular tent with the men! They also had a gardening exhibit, food hall, and-my favorite-a gift shop! We were out 13 hours with most of them standing so I'm ready to fall into bed--I'll write more about the day and the rest of the royals tomorrow!

It was a glorious day for shopping and the size of the crowd and the abundance of vendors proved it to be so! Peter and I arrived at the Market around 9:30 this morning. We found a few original oil paintings, some mechanical sugar tongs (always in demand) great linens (from a grand home so each was marked with its purpose..knives or toilettee) vintage penguins, lots of souvenier spoons from Scandinavian countries. We stayed about 2 hours and during that time Peter made 4 trips to the car--surely a sign of successful shopping. We did more today but I will cover at another time. Tomorrow is National Day and I just learned tha Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel are due to open the ceremony---having witnessed their wedding on line AND toasting them with champagne and princess cake--I feel like part of the royal family and, therefor, plan to be there. Watch for photos!!!!