tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72054479127185462832012-02-16T08:10:18.280Zkirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.comBlogger601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-60445530142271613592011-03-20T22:37:00.000Z2011-03-20T22:37:38.895Z

It's amazing how easily your mind can start to play tricks on you when you're in the house alone at night. I use 'alone' in its loosest possible term as I'm not counting the 3 sleeping children and 2 cats, none of whom would be much use in a fight (unless there's a martial art which involves screaming very loud and very high that I haven't heard of; they'd be very good at that. The children, not

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-67023449293913409692010-05-05T09:31:00.000+01:002010-05-05T09:31:02.095+01:00

For reasons completely and utterly unknown, it seemed like a really good idea last week to see if I could blip a song I liked by a band beginning with each letter of the alphabet. So 2 and a half weeks later I finally made it to the end and in case you missed any, here they all are with an accompanying Spotify playlist. Enjoy! A: Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful B: Blur - Coffee & TVC: Cure -

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-27059519793675132952010-04-12T09:56:00.000+01:002010-04-12T09:57:39.706+01:00

Sometimes my capacity for sheer laziness shocks and appalls me. When I stopped doing #oneaday last month, I didn't actually intend to take a break from posting for quite this long. In fact, I've been surprised at how much I've missed blogging; there have been so many occasions when I've been doing something else, and mentally started writing a post in my head, but without the motivation that

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-36268552172599488412010-03-10T15:26:00.000Z2010-03-10T15:26:22.785Z

Yesterday was my first miss of oneaday after a 50 day run. I'm pretty pleased (and very surprised) at getting so far, but think that it's time to take a break for a week or so. It started out as fun, and a challenge, but has recently descended into being a chore and I have enough daily chores as it is. Not that I've quite run out of things to write about, but my enthusiasm for writing about

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-45908864526437873792010-03-08T22:15:00.001Z2010-03-08T22:17:44.350Z

My original plan for today's #oneaday was to write about a tv programme called 'Simon och Tomas: Design' that is usually shown on Monday evenings. But we turned the tv over to the right channel at the right time, only to be confronted by something called 'Stjärnkockerna' (which I think is sort of a cross between Celebrity Masterchef and that cookery show that Anton du Beke presented, whatever it

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-38123351017299027792010-03-07T23:11:00.000Z2010-03-07T23:11:27.341Z

Last night one of Mr.B's colleagues took us to an ice hockey match at the local stadium. Happily we also had use of one of the corporate boxes, so were able to watch in some comfort and with a free cup of coffee. It wasn't the first ice hockey match I'd ever been to (I went once in the US a few years ago) but to be honest, most of what I know comes entirely from playing EA Hockey on the

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-81072073081318347972010-03-06T22:22:00.000Z2010-03-06T22:22:03.262Z

Too tired to do my ice hockey report justice so that will have to keep till tomorrow. We went back to Mr.B's colleague's house for dinner afterwards, and had a really lovely evening with him and his family. Good food, good wine and good company - what more could anyone ask?  They introduced us to this fantastic sketch that is a staple fixture on Swedish tv on New Year's Eve (and lots of other

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-39239440644261196382010-03-05T20:09:00.000Z2010-03-05T20:09:36.041Z

As this week has been half-term, we managed to get in a proper family day out to the Tom Tits Experiment. Shamefully it was the first time we'd been together despite the fact that it's only a 10 minute drive away. Basically, it's one of those hands-on science museums for kids which is nearly as much fun for adults. We all had a great time, although I did struggle a little bit trying to find the

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-49038173897799491182010-03-04T15:33:00.000Z2010-03-04T15:33:04.639Z

There are many films that are extremely powerful and memorable in one way or another, but believe it or not, in this instance I'm actually talking about the Blair Witch Project. I remember vividly going to see it; I was living in Switzerland at the time, but there was one small cinema in town that showed US films with subtitles rather than dubbing. A friend was over for a visit and it seemed like

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-24138457364029357932010-03-03T19:49:00.000Z2010-03-03T19:49:03.494Z

Inspired partly by Rachel's Temple of Love post last week and heavily influenced by the 'CD CV' feature Mark Radcliffe does sometimes, I present to you some of the stand-out tunes that I can date my life by.  There's even an accompanying Spotify* playlist which I had a great time making this morning, and which could have contained an awful lot more songs. Stand and Deliver/Take it Easy: These

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-84803369759945826382010-03-02T20:20:00.002Z2010-03-02T20:22:41.830Z

Ever noticed how you can have the same conversation multiple times with a straight face and then on the 25th time all of a sudden it is quite the most hysterical thing in the world? This happened to me at tea-time this evening, all because of this: And yes, I am more than 7 years old.* I had bought the girls some miniature bars as a treat and as a result Mr.B had one of those 'things

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-84952641510141743202010-03-01T13:59:00.000Z2010-03-01T13:59:25.330Z

Today I am having a bad day. Ok, I know that in the grand scheme of things it's actually nowhere near being a proper bad day, more of a string of petty annoyances, but I find myself less equipped than usual to deal with them in an adult fashion. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you further with a detailed list of things that have gone wrong (and because if I did I would be forced to confront

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-43198710069651180682010-02-28T10:39:00.000Z2010-02-28T10:40:34.095Z

Interesting thing, habit. I'd kind of got into a routine of posting my oneaday stuff late at night, often in a hurry to get it done so I could go to bed - for no other real reason than it usually takes me that long to think of something to say. So when yesterday I ended up writing and posting much earlier in the day, it kind of threw my evening out. I was left with one of those nagging feelings

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-79073233904823846832010-02-27T15:01:00.002Z2010-02-27T15:15:46.299Z

When it comes to games, my perseverance has been somewhat lacking recently. I'm gradually wearing Mr.B down in my attempts to persuade him to let me buy a 360 and/or PS3, but don't feel like I can totally justify it until I've completed more of the games I've got for the consoles we already have. Christmas left me with a huge stack of games thanks to gifts and a trip round a 2nd hand games shop

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-52924493810281877562010-02-26T18:37:00.000Z2010-02-26T18:37:45.300Z

After my trip there this afternoon, I wanted to write today's post on the Systembolaget, but was a little concerned that it had the potential to turn into another rant so I'll save it for another day. Instead I just wanted to mention the phenomenon that is Nordic Walking. We see loads of people doing this round and about, mostly older people, quite often in couples, and it has fascinated me

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-11707838122773257002010-02-25T23:43:00.001Z2010-02-26T00:16:42.887Z

I read this post by Sweden's EU minister Birgitta Ohlsson earlier this evening and found myself rather frustrated.Whilst it is admirable that gender equality is such an issue in Sweden, it often feels to me like things have been pushed too far in the opposite direction, to the detriment of women's choices rather than their advancement. Childcare provision is excellent and affordable, which gives

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-60821616598856434062010-02-24T21:49:00.003Z2010-02-24T22:10:25.896Z

Before we moved over to Sweden, one of Mr.B's colleagues gave him a bright yellow 'Sverige' t-shirt just so he would know who to support when we got here. And moving to a new country does give a certain sense that you should be cheering them on in their sporting ventures as it would be rude not to. The difficulty comes when your home country team comes up against your adopted country - who do you

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-29640022880852028202010-02-23T21:56:00.003Z2010-02-23T22:10:49.035Z

Not very well today with something that may or may not be Vinterkräksjuka so am cheating a little and using the sort-of review I wrote on Braid because of Spriteclub.I'm doing so rather reluctantly, as so many of the #oneadayers are proper games reviewers and this bears no resemblance to something they would probably write. Anyway, here goes (with fingers crossed none of them read it).For anyone

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-58961566861159646042010-02-22T19:18:00.000Z2010-02-22T19:26:17.213Z

My lovely Swedish teacher decided to give us extra homework half way through this week in the form of preparing a discussion of an article about women having babies at 60 years old. The fact that we were barely able to talk in basic sentences about ourselves last week without resorting to English is presumably besides the point.Naturally I decided to work out my discussion points in English first

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-8236268188749723412010-02-21T21:53:00.000Z2010-02-21T22:21:09.429Z

In case you haven't had time to read all the #oneaday blogs this week, here are a few you really should not miss:A cautionary tale by @cidergirliOne a day by Jazmeister (Almost entirely for one sentence in the last paragraph which made me smile)Rudeness, favours and karma by @sorayaleilaThe trouble with cinemas by @RhiartiAnd you should definitely read this and this by Chris about the future of #

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-12954744636525837742010-02-20T23:21:00.002Z2010-02-20T23:47:20.520Z

The temperature here today was -13C (windchill took it down to -22C) so that combined with a poorly child made us decide to stay in and have a DVD weekend with all 4 Indiana Jones films. 1st two done today, 2nd two will be tomorrow as I don't expect any improvement in the weather. Hopefully the medium-sized girl will be a bit brighter though.There has also been constant snow all afternoon and

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-5300573226888083432010-02-19T22:16:00.005Z2010-02-21T22:21:32.852Z

Since moving abroad, I've come across some interesting perceptions that other countries have about the British. Not so much from the Swedes (the only thing they've ever commented on is England's inability to deal with snow), but just before Christmas I was talking to the Polish mother of one of my daughter's friends. She was asking me what I was looking forward to about going back to England, and

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-60931999773956692512010-02-18T22:29:00.002Z2010-02-19T00:16:43.688Z

As anybody who's read my posts from the last couple of days will probably have noticed, I'm going through a bit of a #oneaday lull right now. Not that I haven't got a smattering of things to write about tucked away on one of my various lists, but none of them are particularly interesting to me at the moment, and therefore the words don't want to play nicely.However, I'm determined not to give up

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-37702605583155095532010-02-17T21:43:00.003Z2010-02-17T21:59:35.706Z

No title for this post, because there's no theme. Feeling particularly 'meh' right now, so here's a few random nuggets from the day.- Swedes are known for not being very sociable in the winter, so it looks like Spring might actually be on the way. The old man from downstairs spoke to me in the lift this morning. He very kindly spoke slowly and in simple words so I could understand what he said,

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-61149417837939753882010-02-16T22:21:00.003Z2010-02-16T22:29:36.872Z

First Swedish conversation class was today. Not quite as bad as I expected (after sulking round the flat like a stroppy teenager who doesn't want to go school this morning) - I really thought I would be the least capable of stringing a sentence together after my performance in recent weeks, but I surprised myself with what I managed to come out with. And I was by no means the least able there,

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-27103315060126670272010-02-15T21:08:00.003Z2010-02-15T21:15:54.547Z

When I was 8, one of my best friends lived in the street behind ours. Each week we'd club together our pocket money and buy sweets and little bottles of Ben Shaw's fizzy pop which we would then hide in a gap in the hedge at the bottom of our garden for the day and raid every so often while we were playing. There was always a packet of Parma Violets in the stash which I secretly loathed (and still

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-15310861697115063822010-02-14T15:10:00.003Z2010-02-14T15:44:31.982Z

I could have written something about Valentines Day, but it wouldn't really be that interesting. So instead, here are some links to just a few of the stand-out #oneaday blogposts I've read this week.Silence is Golden by @jenjeahalyThings I cannot do #2 by @Jam_SpongeBlog #44 by @matmurrayMidnight Manouvres by @RhiartiMy problem with... Facebook by @adamenglebrightThe man who gave me my laugh by @

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-82509694601612144702010-02-13T21:30:00.004Z2010-02-13T22:07:35.891Z

228 days. That's how long we've been living in this apartment and I'm starting to feel every minute of it. Don't get me wrong, the place itself is not actually that bad as they go, and I have nothing against flats in themselves, but I've just had enough.The last time I lived in a flat was pre-children, and was in a shiny new complex at the Royal Victoria Dock in London. I quite liked it there,

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-68097750030274119382010-02-12T21:40:00.003Z2010-02-12T21:57:32.081Z

The origins of my username are sadly prosaic - kirtle is just part of a nickname that one of my sisters has called me for years. Years ago in the early days of my internet usage when we spent many hours in telnet talkers, I was originally known as Titus (Gormenghast was one of my favourite books at the time) but changed that to Fuschia (Gormenghast again) due to the unfortunate side effect that

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-12698342275915016142010-02-11T12:13:00.005Z2010-02-11T12:23:24.549Z

Being the eternal teacher's pet that I am, I've decided to take in some fika for my last Swedish lesson this afternoon. And this is what I made:(The recipe below is from Anne's Food - I heartily recommend checking out some of her other recipes too)Makes about 30220 g butter, at room temperature125 g brown sugar125 g sugar2 eggs1 tsp vanilla extract275 g flour1 tsp salt1 tsp baking soda30 g cocoa

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-6589814231019355192010-02-10T22:00:00.000Z2010-02-10T22:06:10.773Z

I am so bored with snow now. It started snowing 2 months ago, and none of it has gone yet as the temperatures have been constantly sub-zero ever since (except for a couple of days last week when they reached the dizzy heights of 1C). There's so much that they've run out of places to put it when they clear the paths and roads, and dirty snow is piled up everywhere you look. Every now and then some

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-23577351302031608502010-02-09T22:03:00.004Z2010-02-09T22:06:48.957Z

Not much of a blog today, feeling somewhat grumpy even though the forecasted snow has thankfully never materialised. Watching this cheered me up though - there should be more weathermen like this around.

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-47508247123986407242010-02-08T20:22:00.000Z2010-02-08T20:25:36.213Z

No, not that kind of analysis - although I'm sure there's plenty there for a shrink to get their teeth into. Around about the time that Mass Effect 2 came out, I noticed that a lot of the #oneaday blogs I read regularly contained a lot of posts that were games-related, which made me wonder just what kind of subjects were the most popular. So, being a sucker for anything that I can put in a

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-20057948802651591002010-02-07T23:53:00.000Z2010-02-08T00:34:54.503Z

There's something about Sunday nights. Inevitably, I find myself sitting up till the early hours of the morning, for no particular reason except that I just don't want to go to bed. Whether it's a reluctance to let go of the weekend, or a subconscious desire to postpone Monday morning for as long as possible, I have no idea. Whatever the reason, I can always find 101 things to do to delay matters

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-10405865862964651002010-02-06T23:58:00.002Z2010-02-07T01:00:37.885Z

It's fast approaching 2am, and I should obviously be in bed. Instead, I'm sat here with a large glass of wine, frantically trying to think of something to put in this blog so I don't miss a day for the first time (the rules do say that the day doesn't end till you go to bed, right?).The reason being, having discovered that there was nothing on the tv (except an old episode of Silent Witness/Tyst

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-47165505798602301572010-02-05T20:50:00.001Z2010-02-05T21:02:31.305Z

I finally finished reading The Gathering Storm a few days ago. The impression I got was something of a whirlwind with how much actually happened, particularly when compared to say books 8-10. There was a noticeable difference in style in the later parts of the book, which was sometimes good as things were moving along and it was also quite easy to read, but also occasionally a little

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-49764388077556277872010-02-04T10:05:00.001Z2010-02-04T10:13:37.973Z

By the time the rash of 'desk' oneadays came out yesterday, my own post had long been written; but as unusually today I'm actually sitting at a desk while I write this, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon even if it is a day late.However, I'm feeling particularly lazy right now and still have a headache, so here's a photo of it instead of a beautifully crafted description as some of the other

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-75259591415069010592010-02-03T09:10:00.002Z2010-02-03T09:22:41.425Z

It's finally here. Today is the day that I can no longer hang on by my fingernails to the illusion of being in my early 30's, but am firmly ensconced in the realms of a middle thirty-something.Yet I don't really feel any older or more grown-up than I did when I was in my early twenties. Despite all the trappings of adult-hood (husband, kids, mortgage), I'm mentally still somewhere around 23.

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-20047905908963571442010-02-02T13:20:00.001Z2010-02-02T13:20:00.823Z

I distinctly remember the first time I ever got a migraine. I was about 8 years old, and we were on holiday somewhere down south. After much nagging, my parents had finally been persuaded to take me to a amusement park for the first time and we were in the car on the way there. All of a sudden, my excitement turned to total panic when I realised that I couldn't see properly and had a huge blind

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-8648852757996462352010-02-01T11:10:00.000Z2010-02-01T11:10:59.057Z

Monday laundry day bad poetry.There once was a washing machineThat made all the clothes very clean."Please stop me!" it criedAs it tumbled and dried;"This sock has made everything green."--------------------------------------Today I must washTvättrum is too far awayNeed to use the lift.--------------------------------------Lots of clothesAwaiting in the pile.Unless I get them clean,Nobody can get

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-64924901599818636242010-01-31T23:19:00.000Z2010-01-31T23:21:12.509Z

Over the last couple of days I've been reading a book by Peter James called 'Dead Tomorrow'. It's a tale of Romanian street children being kidnapped and killed to provide organs to transplant patients in the UK (and elsewhere), and it gave me pause for thought.One of the central characters is a woman with a terminally ill teenage daughter who is in desperate need of a liver transplant. After

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-55479888540866609022010-01-30T18:48:00.008Z2010-01-31T12:50:42.225Z

As my birthday is mid-week this year, Mr.B took me out for birthday fika here today:For those of you who haven't been following me on twitter for the last 6 months and don't already know, fika is a Swedish word which basically means to have cake & coffee. It's a little more complex than that though; for a start, it's not really something you do on your own, and conveys an element of socialising,

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-32305462574603094292010-01-29T16:28:00.000Z2010-01-29T16:29:19.722Z

You know how when you're young, Friday nights are entirely for going out, and a Friday night in is deemed to be something of a failure (unless it's a party of course). Then when you get older and you're either too tired by the end of the week to do anything, or you have kids and it's too much hassle to get a babysitter so you stay in. But even so, there's always a feeling that Friday evening

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-30889319973535710322010-01-28T19:35:00.002Z2010-01-28T19:56:03.446Z

One of the most frightening telephone conversations I've ever had was in 2003 and went something like this:Me (on answering the phone): "Hello, I'm just about to get on the plane to go home. Are you ok?"Mr.B (in France): Well, I don't want you to worry, but.."Me: "But what? What have you done?"Mr.B: "Erm.. I think I've broken my back."You can imagine my reaction to that - despite being stood in

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-19828117861987363252010-01-27T22:53:00.002Z2010-01-27T23:00:56.604Z

As the child of a Scotsman brought up in Yorkshire, you can imagine that penny pinching is something I am all too familiar with. Irritatingly, those principles were so firmly ingrained in me from childhood that they still influence my spending patterns on a fairly regular basis. Which goes a long way towards explaining why, despite desperately wanting a PS3 and/or 360, I have only recently

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-20092237684840504962010-01-26T21:49:00.003Z2010-01-26T22:46:18.718Z

When we first arrived in Sweden, we were told by some friends who'd been here a couple of years, that once winter arrived we would need candles. Lots of candles. It is dark here (not as dark as the far north of course) but still, sunset is something silly like 2.40pm on the shortest day, with sunrise being around 8.40am. I have previously written a post elsewhere on the lack of sunshine, but what

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-13732545811284508902010-01-25T21:38:00.001Z2010-01-25T21:42:13.038Z

Around 15 years ago* I was waiting for a friend; they were running late so to occupy my time I indulged in one of my favourite hobbies of browsing a second hand book stall. Because I'm something of a fast reader, I always tend to be drawn towards chunky books, in the hope that they'll last a bit longer than usual, and my eye was caught by a pair that were book one and two in a series. They

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-78206624184652512112010-01-24T22:56:00.002Z2010-01-24T23:06:07.487Z

I've been struggling all day to think of something to put in today's blogpost, and failing miserably (and I know I'm not the only one). The situation hasn't been helped by something of a hangover, a sick husband this morning, and a sick child this evening. So I'm just going to plug something my friend's girlfriend has started to raise money for Haiti called Ladies Don't Lunch - there is a

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-6094368847629841562010-01-23T22:48:00.000Z2010-01-23T22:54:27.744Z

I'm not exactly what you would call a football fan. I'll watch England playing in something like the World Cup or Euro whatever, but I'm not that bothered if I don't see it. But despite all that, I take a keen interest in the fortunes of Leeds United, having been indoctrinated in it by my dad for as long as I can remember.I've only ever been to watch 2 football games in my entire life - the first

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-16404185506558439312010-01-22T20:43:00.001Z2010-01-22T20:44:06.366Z

I love my pyjamas. I would spend all day in them if I could. Not because I can't be bothered to get dressed (although that does come into it occasionally), but because there's just nothing more comfortable for pottering round the house in. Unfortunately, despite not being officially employed, I do still have to leave the house in a morning and be seen by other people, and I haven't yet reached

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-57952106417455834802010-01-21T19:33:00.005Z2010-01-21T19:58:22.538Z

This blog is not going to be all about Sweden, I promise (I have one of those already). I had a few thoughts for posts on here earlier today, but they were all wiped out of my mind when I was reminded by something else I was reading about Semla cakes, and the shocking fact that I haven't had one yet this year.They are cardamom-spiced buns, with the top cut off so you can put an almond paste

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-40136352046461638792010-01-20T16:18:00.000Z2010-01-20T16:19:24.378Z

...I must speak more SwedishI am such a coward. Since we came to Sweden, I've been having language lessons - 20 hours so far - which have been enough that I can understand bits and pieces when I'm spoken to, and also get the gist of the letters that come home from school sometimes; but when it comes to actually speaking to someone, I go to pieces and cannot remember enough to even string a simple

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-3154980541771284742010-01-19T18:49:00.002Z2010-01-19T19:44:01.205Z

This afternoon, Mr.B flew off somewhere decidedly unglamorous for a business trip, and I fully intend to make the most of the few days he's away.* After our recent visit back to the UK I came home with a fistful of new PS2 games, none of which I've had the chance to try out yet. Judging by my previous form, it's entirely likely that by the time I look at the clock again it will already be

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-46078958639443023932010-01-18T14:07:00.005Z2010-01-18T14:46:41.225Z

For a proper explanation of #oneaday click here.I was intrigued by the concept of #oneaday when I first saw it appear in my twitter stream at the beginning of the year, and have been reading some of the participating blogs with interest ever since.There have been a few times that I've considered joining in as I'm really good at starting blogs, but not so good at keeping them updated, and thought

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-54526645385217023672009-04-20T12:10:00.000+01:002010-01-19T17:58:46.344Z

With the move coming up, we've obviously been having a clearout. For the inexpensive stuff we were getting rid of, ebay didn't seem worth the hassle, so last week we decided to freecycle several things. It was the first time we'd ever used it, and was definitely not what I expected. The post went up at 5pm, and by 5 minutes past I'd already had 2 emails. They were quickly followed by many more

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-64921163769657290612009-04-19T17:44:00.002+01:002010-01-19T17:58:46.344Z

Just made this and it is lovely. Very bad for you, but lovely nonetheless.6oz chocolate (I use plain, but whatever takes your fancy)4oz butter1 tin condensed milk10 oz rich tea biscuitsRaisins and cherries (you could also use chopped nuts or other dried fruit)Melt the chocolate, butter and condensed milk in a large pan. Crush the biscuits and mix together. Add whatever else you want to put in

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-90433821092120715412009-03-16T23:38:00.003Z2010-01-19T17:58:46.344Z

My lovely 7 year old wrote me a letter today, it's quite long and rambling (and occasionally repetitive), but here are some of the best bits with the original spelling:To Mummy,I love you wiht all my hart becuase you are the besstes mummy anyone could ever have. You look very preety some times but most of the times you just look pretty and sometimes you look beautifull but still most of the times

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-1136169780638943762009-03-07T19:45:00.001Z2010-01-19T17:58:46.345Z

I bought Delicious Library today, and it's great! Using it to keep track of all the books and CD's I'm packing for our big move.I never thought that scanning barcodes could be so much fun!

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-84429944586321336112009-03-04T16:22:00.002Z2010-01-19T17:58:46.345Z

It's terrible that so many people are going to lose their jobs at ITV, but do they really think that cutting the drama programming and having more reality shows is going to save them? How can they not realise that part of the reason they're in so much trouble is the amount of absolute rubbish like this that they've been broadcasting over the last 5 years?The awful reality shows (Celebrity Love

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7205447912718546283.post-16041522942442973032009-03-02T11:55:00.001Z2010-01-19T17:58:46.345Z

kirtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04607455255154483750noreply@blogger.com0