The Great Pumpkin Disaster!

Our Halloween party is rapidly approaching. It looks like the the turnout will be robust. Planning has been going along smoothly. Up until now.

While in the US, we purchased candy corn, candy pumpkins, and Peeps (yes, Peeps!). A little taste of traditional Halloween candy for our Swedish friends. Well, traditional except for the Peeps part. Also found costumes for ourselves and the dogs [party pix to be posted next week]. Lots of scary decorations for the apartment. And this guy...

Yes, a Devil Domo plush toy! In fact, we got two additional little Halloween-themed Domos from Target. Don't judge. I have had a Domo for 7 years. I like strange and cute figures from Japan. No comments from the peanut gallery.

Anywho, we decorated the apartment this past weekend. TJ did the bulk of the heavy lifting. Stringing cobwebs and setting a plastic spider into said cobweb. Hanging bats from our circular staircase belfry. Gluing a plastic skull onto a beer bottle. Did I mention that TJ was putting up the decorations? On Saturday we went grocery shopping and picked up two pumpkins. A postmortem analysis:

Buying your pumpkins 6 days before our Halloween party - Seems logical.
Carving your pumpkin 6 days before your Halloween party - Shouldn't be a problem.
Keeping the pumpkins indoors - Might be a problem.
Pumpkin becoming soft and squishy in places 3 days before your Halloween party - A bad problem.
Mold growing on your pumpkins 3 days before your Halloween party - A very bad problem.

The autopsy photo clearly shows the problem.

So, if you happen to be attending our Halloween party on Friday night and see one or two [skillfully carved] pumpkins, you will know that the pumpkin elves were hard at work Friday afternoon.

Absentee Blogging

Okay. So the frequency of my postings has slowed a bit. I've been wrapped up in things (how specific of me). But, I did vote. The ballot was mailed on Monday. And barring some unforeseen event, my vote will be counted. I hope all my dear friends and family in the US are voting. It's too important for you to not let your voices be heard. Participate or don't bother complaining about the result.

We're certainly sailing through uncharted waters with not only the US economy, but the global one as well. I've been following along here in Sweden. And while I find a silver lining in that the US Dollar has staged an amazing rally against European currencies, it's pretty bleak otherwise. Still, TJ and I have decided to keep traveling and not let the opportunity to see Europe slip away.

For those who know me well, you probably can guess how I voted. But, this video uses both humor and poignancy to illustrate why it's time for real change in the US. I'm hopeful.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is fast approaching. A scary day during some scary times indeed. Even here in Sweden. So, we've decided to throw a Halloween Party. Halloween is not celebrated on the same level as it is in the US. The holiday and associated marketing are just making inroads into Scandinavia and, for that matter, most parts of Europe. Candy corn is unknown to most Swedes. The horror!

We aim to change all that.

But how will we acquire the requisite orange, yellow and white sugary gold? Well, a trip to the US, of course. Luckily we already had one planned. A very brief trip to Upstate New York. But long enough to do a little shopping and help prop up the US economy. We're both bring an extra suitcase! And we will return with candy corn, some decorations (which are few and far between here), and perhaps the makings of a costume.

Yes, it is going to be a costume party! In that spirit, I designed an apropos Halloween greeting. Click on the image below (or here) to be taken to an interactive page where you can reveal who is scarier...

Glad Kanelbullens Dag!

Much to my surprise, October 4 is Kanelbullens Dag. A day to celebrate the cinnamon (kanel) roll or bun (bulle). That Sweden has a special day set aside for a pastry should really come as no surprise. But, I would have thought that the French would be the ones to honor such delectable treats. Perhaps they do. I am always willing to be enlightened about such matters.

So what is Kanelbullens Dag? Well, this handy website would surely tell me, if only I were more proficient at Swedish. Luckily, I found this bit of info on another Swedish blog. "The Cinnamon Bun Day is invented by an organisation called Hembakningsrådet. Hembakning means home baking, and this organization works for supporting knowledge about cereals, baking and other bun-and-bread-related issues."

So, there you have it. I cannot think of a better reason to celebrate. In fact, thanks to TJ, I've already "celebrated" this morning with two lovely warm kanelbullar. Two down....many more to go!