The Snow Globe Effect

Last Christmas, Mother Sweden pulled out all of the stops and gave us a lot of snow that created the perfect magic to get everyone into the Christmas spirit.  It was lucky that my parents were there to experience the beauty themselves.  The snow hanging on the branches of the trees made it feel like we were walking in a snow globe that had just been lightly shaken and all of the glittery snowflakes had just settled down again.  The woods were quiet except for the crunching of our boots. We kept marveling at how beautiful it was and I called it the "Snow Globe Effect."

This Christmas we had weather that was rainy and consistently in the 40s and gave us the overall blah feeling.  Though the weather didn't help put us in the Christmas spirit, Stockholm still dresses up for the occasion and we hit up the Christmas markets and the NK store windows.

So, here we are in January and we finally, finally, have snow in Stockholm that is suitable for sledding.  Yesterday as I was walking Calvin to school, these huge flakes started falling and I just sighed and thought, "here's the snow globe feeling I've been waiting for!"  Calvin looked at me and says confusedly, "It's Christmas? It's not Christmas..."  No, it's not Christmas but it finally feels like it.  Hope you can enjoy the snow globe effect where you are this winter!

Here comes the sun

The past two weeks have been joyfully filled with tons of SUNSHINE!  You have no idea how happy this makes me. I can handle cold weather (to a point) as long as there is sun.  It really makes a difference in mood, energy level and just plain enjoyment of the day.   Plus there is BLUE SKY!  No more gray blah dreariness.

So blue!

It was -10 this morning, so Calvin still has to be bundled up in 2 layers for everything -- 2 mittens, 2 socks, 2 pants, 2 shirts, 1 sweatshirt, snow pants and jacket.  I think he's a little tired of it all, as am I.  We've gotten our morning snow-clothes routine down to only 6 minutes as long as Calvin participates and helps me with all of the items.  Putting a pair of mittens on flailing hands is impossible, let alone 2 pairs of mittens!

Calvin's tired of all of the winter gear.  Me too buddy!

One tantrum-stopper that actually worked for me (no idea if it will ever work again), was that I gave him his time to freak out.  He really didn't want to put on his mittens and he kept flailing his hands and yelling.  I told him he had 5 more seconds to have his tantrum but after that, the mittens had to go on.  I counted to 5 with Calvin freaking out the entire time (not sure if he even heard me) and when I was done, he magically stopped and put his hand out to be properly "mittened."  Amazing! After those 5 seconds, he was a normal kid again and we went outside a few minutes later.

Spring can come anytime it wants...really spring - come on already!

Just put a plow on it!

The snow is back!  I think the birds foolishly thought spring was around the corner because it hasn't snowed in nearly a month and the temperature was finally in the + range for a few days.  Considering it snowed for 33 hours straight, I have a feeling we will be solidly in winter a bit longer.

Swedes are professional snow plowers and they seem to be able to adapt any vehicle into a snow plow.  If it has tires and space for a plow attachment,  you're in business.

It's hard to tell Calvin what these things are since they are usually a combination -- truck-plow, tractor-plowbackhoe/digger-plow, and forklift-plow.  It seems the possibilities are endless and are getting more creative as winter progresses -- I saw a golf cart-plow the other day.  Wherever there is snow to clear, people will invent ways to remove it with the least amount of effort. Happy shoveling!

Lake skating

An ice skater's nightmare

Our house is situated within walking distance to a nature reserve and beautiful lake.  We went swimming in the lake's cool waters in August and at that time, I don't think we ever imagined we would be out ice skating on it a few months later.

Our first winter, we saw people walking on Lake Mälaren and thought they were insane (I still think so) and Jon and I swore that we wouldn't unnecessarily risk Calvin's life by pushing a stroller on the lake, as we saw some Stockholmites doing.  As the winter turned to spring, we saw just how long it took the frozen lake to thaw -- the air temperature has to be above 0C for weeks -- not hours or days.  The lake is really, really frozen. Never say never, huh?

This winter has been the coldest on record for the past 10 years, so we thought that the lake was good and frozen.  It also helped that a huge truck plows the snow off of the lake to create a long circuitous route around the perimeter of the lake.  OK, if a 2 ton truck doesn't fall through the ice, I suppose it'll hold little 'ole me.  I was told that the ice was 30cm thick -- anything thicker 10cm is considered safe.  Jon bought us ice skates (he bought me fancy Figure Ice Skates) while out on his winter gear shopping spree so we were eager to test them out.

Day 1 -- divide and conquer

Still trying to "play it safe" we decided to split up and skate separately while one of us stayed with Calvin -- safe at shore.  I made Jon watch about 15 minutes on how to react when you fall through the ice on YouTube (instructional video here) and some ice safety picks (kind of like these: Ice Safety Picks) so we could drag ourselves out if need be.  The ice picks were about $15 -- pretty cheap life insurance.

Calvin didn't really like it when we separated, so Jon headed home a little early while I practiced my loopdy-loops.  Skating on the lake was a little challenging but it was really smooth and there was only snow in a few places.  The snow acts as a brake on the skates and sometimes pulled on one skate more than the other.  Considering my balance was already a little off, any little bump felt like a near death experience.  Apparently being scared half to death is a good workout because my legs were sore the next day.  Skating also warmed us up really quickly -- its great for the core, legs and cardio.  Now you know why those figure skaters are so slim.  Jon will be doing Brian Boitano moves before too long

Day 2 - Enjoying the sun

We invited our friend, Pamela, to come to "our lake" for some ice skating.  It was a beautifully sunny day and she was game.  We decided to change our game plan a bit and put Calvin in the stroller, rather than the sled, to see if we'd have better luck and less tears.  Calvin just likes being pushed so he can look around. He was tired of looking at Jon's butt while being dragged in the sled.  The day was beautiful and the lake was crowded.  Kids were playing hockey, girls were practicing their loopy jumps and Pam and I tried skating backwards a bit.  After nearly falling a gazillion times due to the hidden cracks in the ice (hidden beneath snow), we did two laps and decided to head back for a warm coffee fika break.  I put out delicious muffins, digestive cookies and a banana for Calvin.  Despite being a picky eater he sure loves his baked goods!  The day was super awesome and one of those moments where you fall in love with Sweden, its people, and even its winter,  all over again.

                         

     

Snow hides cracks - where is the plow when you need it?

Post skating fika is the best

P.S. Any day when the sun is shining during winter, requires spending a few hours outside - regardless of the air temperature.

Summer Solstice vs. Winter Solstice – WHO YA GOT????

July

December 

vs

As we’ve mentioned, folks out here are much more aware of the seasons and of nature than we were used to from the States.  Now that we’ve experienced both, I figured it was a good time to figure out which one was better.  In the spirit of the NFL playoffs, I decided to break it down “game preview style” (bill simmons style, basically)

In case you aren’t familiar, up here in the northlands, the sun is a fickle mistress. In the summer, the sun rises at 3:31 and “sets” at 10:08pm (18h, 37m and 12s). Compare this to the winter, when the sun is only “up” from 8:44 to 2:48 – 6h, 4m and 44s.  And yes, “sets” and “up” are in quotations because neither one actually happens….

Now that you are familiar, on to the breakdown!

Preseason Expectations –   If you asked me a year ago, this would have been easy.  I was SUPER hyped for constant sunlight and thought that I would go into a severe depression in December.  We had a bunch of friends visit us in the summertime, but shockingly, not too many folks asked about our availability in the dead of winter.

Advantage - SUMMER

General Mood – The biggest holiday of the year here is the summer solstice in mid-June. It’s like 4^th of July at home, except WAY more pagan – which is a good thing.  Everyone goes to their summer homes, grills out, takes their boats on the archipelago and drinks “snaps”.  Also, month long vacation starts in July, so everyone is in a pretty good mood.

The winter solstice would be super depressing if it wasn’t for Christmas (tangential rumor I heard is that this why the Church made Christmas right around Solstice – so that it would be a new beginning and the world came out of darkness).  Luckily, Christmas here is really great, so for the last month with the most darkness, people are distracted by all the pretty lights and good cheer.

This year we got lucky and it was already snowing a lot by Solstice, which made it a lot brighter.  If that wasn’t there though, it would have been REALLY dark and depressing. 

Due to the Christmas season, I am tempted to make this a draw – but Swedes become pretty reserved during this season, so I’m going to go with:

Advantage - SUMMER

Day-After Feeling – This might be the easiest one.  One June 22^nd this year, I could almost feel the darkness enveloping me.  I knew it was going to get darker, and darker, and darker each day.  Really killed my “snaps” buzz. 

On the flip side, on Dec 22, I felt like it was noticeably brighter and that we had weathered the worst of the year.  Also, it was basically Christmas.

Advantage - WINTER

Sleep Schedule – Luckily Calvin is a great sleeper, because I was really nervous that he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all in constant daylight.  And it was really weird putting him down to sleep when we had 3+ hours of BRIGHT sunlight left in the day.  He did generally get up earlier than normal – 5 o’clock hour almost every day of my July vacation, rather than the normal 630-7ish. Lis had to resort to eyeshades at night, and we both became basically sleep-deprived a bit.

Winter is obviously fantastic for sleeping – you don’t need to worry about the sun waking you up for a solid 3-4 months.  So that’s a big win….

Advantage - WINTER

Uniqueness / Weirdness – The darkness is tough because it is so short, but it’s not THAT much shorter than what we dealt with growing up in the northeast. 

The summer though is NUTS.  It is completely odd to have it be twilight-ish coming back from the bars at 2am, or to have the sun wake you up at 5.  Definitely the more unique of the solstices.

Advantage - SUMMER

Tools Needed to Adapt –

Summer – Night shades (making me feel like a pampered, rich elderly lady,  blackout curtains (sold in stores and do their best to block out the sun)

Winter – stars to put in your window (“Christmas” tradition that we are keeping up year round), candles (placed outside doors of stores or homes to welcome you inside), self tanning bulbs (we don’t have these, but lis does have a valentines gift coming up soon), vitamin D supplements (for Calvin, but if we siphon off a bit that’s not a bad thing right?)

Advantage – WINTER (Calvin LOOOOVES the star and would be upset if it lost)

Drinking Ability – This is the most difficult area to score.

On one hand, everyone knows that “day drinking” is always the best kind of party.  It’s usually done at a ballgame, tailgate, beach, bbq, etc.  Always a great time.  During summer solstice though, it’s 24 hr day drinking time!  As I alluded to before, even if you are walking your way back home in the late night / early morning (I did this once, but it makes me feel tough to keep bringing it up), its still daylight.  Your energy to keep rockin’ out is unmatched. 

On the flip side, having 20hrs of darkness means that you can ACTUALLY drink during the day and not feel like a degenerate.  Get home on Saturday and get the party started, it’s pitch black out! Granted, its 3pm, but STILL – it’s dark out.  Also, Lis and I had dinner reservations at 5pm one night when the Dwyers were in town to babysit.  Because it had been dark for 2 hours already, it didn’t even feel like it was “too early” for us to sit down.  So that’s nice.

Basically, this comes down to whether is more fun to party in the sunlight, or party during the day.  Not a distinction I’ve ever had to make before, but in this case, I have to go with…

Advantage:  SUMMER

Overall Winner -  So there you have it – by a score of 4-3, (based on my drinking preference evidently), the best solstice of the year is found in the SUMMER

Congratulations to the winning solstice, they truly deserve their victory.

Now to get ready for the Patriot and Falcons games this weekend!!!

Swedish Snow - why it's not so bad

I've never been a fan of snow.  I'm not one of those people who travels to snowy places to go skiing or snowboarding.  Any winter sports I attempt are because others think it's fun and I just go along to get along.  Growing up in Upstate New York, I can remember only a few times where the snow hung on the trees and there was sunshine and blue sky.  Those days were absolutely beautiful, but they were few and far between.  Most days involved slush, gray skies, and my parents making me shovel the most dreadful part of the driveway -- where the driveway meets the road and all of the plowed snow from the street is as hard as concrete.  (Oh and don't think for a second that I'm not going to make Calvin do the same thing. What's the point in having kids if you aren't going to give them the tough jobs that you don't want anymore?

Snow-pocalypse

 Last year we had a CRAZY snowstorm in Atlanta (might have been two years ago).  There was ½ an inch of snow, and the city legitimately shut down for a week.  Because it was the first snow in a decade, they obviously didn’t have any plows, and then everything froze, and southerners can’t drive if it rains, so you can only imagine what snow/ice can do, and so on and so forth – it was nuts.

That was my last experience with a debilitating snowstorm, and I was looking forward to seeing how in-stride Stockholm would handle their snow.  When we moved here in January, there was a bunch of snow on the ground and it didn’t really affect anything.  I figured that Stockholm had a solid snow plan and didn’t really worry about the weather.

Well, as Mike Tyson used to say, “everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth”.  And evidently, the storm we had last week was the weather equivalent of getting a tyson-style uppercut.

Where's the snow?

I know that as soon as I post this, tonight's night air will freeze and we'll be greeted in the morning with 2-3" of snow.  But...I'm taking that chance and defying the weather gods with this post - notably dangerous ground to tread here in Sweden.  Today was beautiful - BEAUTIFUL.  Sunny, no precipitation, a little wind with some bite, but not bad at all.  Last night, I took Bessie out for her night walk without a jacket on and wasn't freezing.

Is this abnormal? Is this Sweden's way of welcoming my southern blood and allowing me time to adapt to the new darkness and frost cycles?  Uhh...no.  Upon googling, "average temperature by month, Stockholm, Sweden" this is what I found:

Ok, nevermind.  The average highs are exactly what we have been seeing for November and our actual lows are much lower than average.  This graph also revealed that our average lows in September and October were much colder than what is reflected by this graph.  So, instead of lamenting months that could've been much warmer than they were (oh June, July, August, and September!) I will be grateful for the sunny day today, high of 43 and fun run on the country trails I took with Bessie this morning.  

As someone said to us the otherday, "Don't ask if the snow is coming but when.  It will be here for a while, don't you worry."

Running with the sun on his face

Winter is Coming...

A repeating mantra...for Swedes and the characters in Game of Thrones.  You can see the signs of it almost daily now that "summer is over" and we are mid way into September.  As Jon said on a Friday afternoon,  "It's Friday, I just got off work, it feels like a beautiful November day!"  Except it was the beginning of September...not exactly our usual Atlanta weather pattern.  I try not to look at the weather back West but it is difficult not to be envious of the beautiful fall days in Atlanta where football dominates every weekend and pumpkin coffee and ale start brewing.  Ahh, Fall.  It seems to be one weekend in Stockholm and then there is WINTER.

Here are a few signs to let you know that "Winter is coming" here in Sweden: