Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Swedish Theory of Love

'Sweden is a paradise but we've lost human values'
I truly hope to be able to see this movie which explores some themes that I myself have found disturbing in Sweden recently.  The coldness that comes from strangers, the lack of simple human interactions which are being replaced by technology, and the feeling that although the country is very well-off that people are missing something.  It makes you wonder -- how is it that people who live in such a great country complain all the time?  I don't know if it's just human nature to want more and not appreciate what you already have, or if the Swedes are more morose than others.  I think that this film may have hit the nail on the head in terms of the loneliness epidemic in the country.  I always love being in Sweden because I see family and friends, but if that wasn't the case it would be awfully hard to meet people there.  Gandini, the writer of The Swedish Theory of Love, was interviewed in The Local to whom he was quoted as saying the following:
I was very disturbed during my research; loneliness is a real problem and it is something you can measure. Half of the population live alone, one of the highest rates in the world.
In surveys about happiness in different countries, Denmark and Sweden always do well, but this clashes with the fact that Scandinavian countries have the highest consumption per capita of anti-depressants. The Red Cross – who usually deal with wars and catastrophes! - did a survey which discovered 40 percent of the Swedish adult population feel lonely, and launched campaigns to try to combat this.
Then I learned about the growing problem of people dying alone. One of the chapters of the film is about the team that look into these cases, who told me: "You only see people’s houses from the outside or their Facebook lives, but we see the truth behind the happy surface."
It was eerie to follow their work; for example seeing an apartment where an old man lay dead for two years unnoticed – an unimaginably long time. It’s my ultimate nightmare to end life that way.
For people in Ethiopia, for example, it’s beyond their conception that someone can die alone. This is exactly what I reflect upon when I travel to countries considered to be less modern. We look at them with feelings of superiority as if we know better, but I have a strong feeling that in the ‘fast forward’ movement towards modernity, we’ve forgotten how to value very simple human qualities.

Here's the trailer from The Swedish Theory of Love - it is definitely thought-provoking.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Nordic Middle Days

Image result for swedish fields
Hello, phew, Christmas sure was a blast and it lasted!  Yesterday we waved good-bye to our last guests and I got down to some serious down time.  No matter how wonderful the holidays are I always get a little blue when they are over.  The friend and family time is done.  The gifts opened, and the food eaten.  Leftovers are nice as is the extra eggnog and bottles of good red that friends brought to our XMAS party, but it's not the same as enjoying them with their company.  

In Sweden these days are called "mellandagarna" (middle days) and it's a time to regroup and enjoy your gifts.  That's what I plan to do now.  I am headed off to the art dungeon to use some nice new brushes and water-based oil paints.  A splurt of color should help my mood!  I am leaving you with some Nordic Blues of a good sort.  The link goes to a designer's beautiful blue "tablescape". The photos below are from the Nordic skies found on image banks that appealed to me.  Enjoy! 
I hope that you had a God Jul and that the New Year will bring everything that you need.  
Image result for nordic lights
telegraph.uk
Image result for nordic sky
bcnprestigi.com
Swedish fields wallpaper

Monday, December 21, 2015

We wish you a Merry Goat Christmas!

As they say in today's Daily Mail Action Aid has jumped on the silly goat bandwagon to bring us 8 Christmas carols by  yes, you guessed it, goats!  Please read more here at Daily Mail, and if you have any extra cash after all the shoping, please consider donating a goat to a family in need.  In America you can do so thorough "Heifer.org" for only $120 or Oxfam.  Listening to their new goat CD will have you bleeting a "delightful" Christmas ditty in no time . LOL

the temptation of Jansson



So the 4th Advent has come and gone, and what a wonderful weekend we had!  Saturday was a great day spent watching the new Star Wars movie and caroling with friends at their annual XMAS party.  Sunday I enjoyed a delicious Christmas brunch (julbord) with Swedish friends.

We had meatballs,  little hot dogs, salad with beets and apples, knäckebröd, cheese, glögg and Janssons frestelse aka temptation.  I don't know what it was about potatoes, anchovies and cream that drove Jansson to distraction but it is good.  I made it for our little get-together and the recipe is linked  I didn't have Swedish anchovies so I used the Italian ones which seemed to work.

Now we're watching "Rare Exports", a Finnish movie about a bad Santa Claus.  It is nerve wracking for sure and I'm not sure if I will watch the whole movie.  (I'm not much for horror movies, I just wanted to see Finland and the landscape there.) Finnish men are reputed to be rough and tough, drinkers and macho men who brave saunas and snaps. Well we'll see how they handle the evil Santa...


"It's kind of like troll hunter", said my son and he's right. Troll Hunter is a Norwegian movie that is meant to look like a documentary in which they find massive trolls in the forests.  Something about the mythology of the North is really interesting and eerie.  I guess the nature there is so large and overwhelming.  Kind of like the avalanche in "Force Majeure", a Swedish film, which explored family dynamics in the face of disaster.  Enough of that, here's the cat and the elf wishing you a Happy Holiday season!   Now I've got to run and shop!

Friday, December 18, 2015

Alicia Vikander Shares Swedish Glogg with Will Ferrell and Jimmy

Who doesn't love Will Ferrell?  And his wife is Swedish which endears me to him even more.  Here's the new Santa speaking Swedish with Alicia Vikander.  Those glasses of glögg are huge!

Friday, December 11, 2015

Lucia soon, get ready!

Tusen tack to the person who posted this on Facebook, this will come in handy! :-) St. Lucia is on Sunday December 13th and I can't wait to get the kids into the groove as well as into their white robes!  It is one of the best days of the year in Sweden and at Huset Lagom (house just right).  Time to practice!  The song sounds like this when done right --
Hi, postscript - here's me at school singing St. Lucia for the kindergartners.  I just love doing this. They love it too.  :)


Thursday, December 10, 2015

Nobel Prizes 2015

Stockholm's City Hall was the vaulting location for the annual Nobel Prize that saw the world's brightest minds celebrate achievement    So the important passing out of the Nobel prizes happened with all the pomp and circumstance that the Swedes can muster today.  A beautiful meal was served in the Blue Hall of Stockholm's glorious City Hall for dignataries, winners, and royalty.
Photo of Stockholm City Hall
Stockholm City Hall

Kronprinsessan Victoria bär prinsessan Sibyllas diadem och delar ur drottning Josefinas ametistgarnityr samt ett briljantarmband. Jonas Ekströmer/TT
Princess Victoria looks beautiful in purple
Seinabo Sey and Anna Ternheim were two Swedish musical artists that performed at the event.  I had never heard of the Swedish-born, Gambian-bred Sey but wow, what a voice!  It compares to Beyonce and Adele. Check out her contribution to the festivities below, the song "Poetic".  Just beautiful, and I love the harp too.

Congratulations to all of the 2015 winners! Also a link to more information on last year's event.  Please enjoy the beautiful music by Seinabo Sey, a Swede.

Monday, December 7, 2015

Christmas Joy

from Sköna Hem
Chocolate House Instructions from Marabou
Here is an amazing idea for the holidays - instead of making a gingerbread house how about making a chocolate house!  You need 6 large bars of chocolate.  First cut out the windows and doors, they recommend microwaving the piece that you are cutting for 7 - 9 secs before cutting to make it easier,
http://www.marabouchokladhus.se/assets/img/instructions-step-1-min.jpg
Cutting the pitch of the house
... and then melt the cut chocolate and glue the house together using melted chocolate.  Yum!  Using white icing add the piping around the door and windows and into the funnels on the roof.  They suggest that it's easier to do the piping before you construct the house.  The woman on the video will show you how to make the adorable icicles (so much better than ice dams) and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  It's in Swedish but images speak a thousand words and you'll figure it out because my readers are smart.  So there.  Voila!

But for those of you whose creations using end up on the Pinterest Nailed-it Fail page, here is another video from Sweden - perhaps more understandable - from the hilarious Tiffany Persson.  She uses a rudimentary healing technique to heal her holiday stress.  Enjoy!


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Art and Kids!

Image result for art and kids images
 I wrote this article for our local parent newsletter.  They asked me: "How would you feel about writing an article for parents who want to integrate more art into their child's life?  Especially for people who don't think of themselves as artistic but maybe have a child who enjoys it or is drawn to it?  Some do-able ideas for inspiring art and creativity around the home? Let me know if I'm totally talking crazy, but I think it's something our membership would be interested in..." 
This is what I wrote.  Let me know what you think!

What was your favorite thing as a child? If it was art then you probably don't need much help finding fun art activities to do with your kids, as a matter of fact you probably jumped at the chance to get creative!  But if your child loves to do art, and you never had that inclination, it might be hard to get enthused about making art with him or her. That's how I feel when I play with my athletic daughter, who knows how to cartwheel and do other athletic feats of derring-do.  She pushes me to try new things at the playground, and I usually end up having a great time (if I don't break or twist something that is.)  

I certainly hope that with some simple suggestions that you will break open that pack of colored paper that's starting to get light with sun damage, and pick up those unused crayons, chalk and paint and have fun!  First of all, the way you talk to your young artist is probably more important than what you actually do together when you create. The young artist doesn't need to hear “that's good”, the child enjoys the process and removing judgment is probably the best favor you can do him or her. Similarly, if he or she wants to paint the sun green or the snow pink let them. We don't need to judge, this is your child's work, and you just need to let them get on with it. Your job is to gather the supplies, set aside the time, and handle clean up. Your child's creativity, a nice cup of coffee for you, and some peaceful music will take care of the rest. But it is even better if you try too to make art and show them your process.  Reserve judgment for yourself too and don't forget to mention "happy accidents" a lot. :)

So now that you're both busy what can you talk about? Ask them what they are doing, it will provide a fascinating window into what's going in their lives. Questions like “what is your painting about?”, “why did you decide to use that color?”, or “what's the story behind this part of your drawing?” will be illuminating to you and help to validate them as artists. Artists make choices and this line of questioning will not only bring you closer but help your budding artist understand that process.

Some fun activities that you may want to add to your artistic line-up include watercolors, clay, using chalk outside on a nice day, and making sculptures out of the recycling bin. I like to take my kids for a walk and talk to them about the colors and shapes that we see. It is a great way to model how artists see the world and then translate that into art. It perhaps sounds harder than it is but a simple handful of leaves, some seashells, or grass brought indoors all show you nature's amazing palette. Try making and matching the colors that you see, just remember all artists see things a little differently. Play with the colors – white makes the colors more pastel, black makes them darker – and experimenting with the colors makes the artist more informed and in control of their media.  Using colored paper also adds a different twist, and combining media such as crayons with watercolor, or chalk with pencil is a lot of fun.

Places to go that will provide inspiration for your budding artist include the library, The Peabody Essex Museum of Art in Salem, any Boston gallery or art museum, and watching videos on artists. I really like these stories, they are insightful and can generate some fun experiments.
·         The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers
·         Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
·         Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg
·         Linnea in Monet's Garden (check out the video too) by Christina Björk and Lena Anderson
·         Art by Patrick McDonnell
·         The Art Lesson by Tomie de Paola

Other than that if you find that your child's artistic endeavors exceed your own and that they would like some more guidance I will be starting art classes – both private and group lessons – for artists ages 8+. I think anyone can do art but like anything, more time and training equals better results. I could show you how to make something but instead the goal of my classes will be to take the artist where they are, and when ready provide the instruction to elevate his or her art to the next level. And have fun doing it! Which hopefully you will have too when working with your young artist. They instinctively tap into their creativity which is an on-going source of inspiration for us all!


Inn Along the Way

It went well! My first artist residency in Maine from August 21 - 26 is in the books, literally, look at my scrap book below. :) I was pleas...