Stars everywhere

Another thing they do here for Christmas is hanging stars in their windows. They are absolutely gorgeous to see on these long dark days. I was considering getting some stars for my window but I'm not going to be here for most of the holidays, for most of December for that matter. Will be spending 6 weeks in Texas - excited but at the same time, it's funny to think of leaving here for that long as well. Will make the most of the time with family and friends! Maybe they have similar stars back home.....

P.S. it's usually one star per window....

A tradition at Christmas

You know it is officially the Christmas season when NK (my favorite store here) has dressed up their windows in Christmas splendor. It's fun to see the childrens' reaction to it. It's just fun to watch.

My commute the other day

It has been snowing here a lot (which is a relative term but being from Texas, it's alot). Part of my commute has walking in the mix regardless of the elements. Decided to take these pics to share yesterday's commute. It was beautifully white on the ground and we were all in a row like little ants....

Full house

Parking at the pizza place was full.

Snowfall in Stockholm

It snowed! And the city looks beautiful. Lots of people out either taking kids for some fun in the snow or doing some Christmas shopping.

Something you don't see in Corporate America

Walking to get my morning latte when I passed by these racks of glasses. These are wine glasses and shot glasses in our corridor at work. it's not out of the question to serve alcohol on the premises. Something you would never see at our office in the U.S.

Just before closing deals

There's an open market in Hötorget square where they sell all kinds of things but mostly flowers and vegetables/fruits. Toward closing time, the prices drop and the negotiation begins. There was one guy who was doing such a great job of drawing attention to himself as he was trying to get rid of tulips- "tjugo, tjugo, tjugo". I had to buy some. (sorry for the blurry picture - was trying to be in discreet in my picture taking)

Fresh air for the baby

Was walking out of one of my favorite places for lunch and noticed this baby carriage outside the door with the baby in it and parents inside eating at the cafe. It's ok to leave a baby outside, it's good for them to get fresh air, at least that's the thinking here. It's amazing how safe this place is.

Scary elevator

This is the elevator I sometimes take when I want to cheat doing laundry. It's located in the next building which is wear my laundry facilities are. Taking it results in me avoiding 6 flights of stairs. Anyway, it has a small seat in it for the elderly. The overall affect of it scares me. Can't quite describe why I find it eerie but I think of the twins from The Shining everytime I look at it.

Little details you learn to appreciate

This city is beautiful. The buildings, the trees, the water. All of the big things you notice for sure but it's the little attention to details that really make this place special to me. For instance, this door. It's located kind of off to the side of the main entrance to the building - not front center like you think a door this beautiful should be. It's always fun to walk around and find these nice details.

Crutches - another difference here

I hurt my foot running the other day. I should have stopped when it started hurting me but thought I would push through the pain. Bad plan. I've now been home for two days with my foot up and crutches for when I need to get around. Interesting crutches uh? they even have a reflector at the end of each handle.

Just hanging out

had to take a picture of these two fellas. I was pulling into the Target parking lot (God I love Target and miss it so) when I parked next to these two who were hanging out in the parking lot awaiting their owner's return. Good doggies.

Going back home, home

I was in Lubbock - specifically Bovina, Texas - to attend my dear Aunt Lola's funeral. She was a sweet soul who I will miss dearly.

Driving there it felt good to be back as this land is where my grandfather and grandmother farmed and raised a family. There is a whole community of people who love one another and support one another on a much deeper level than I think we see today. As flat and as some people would say barren this land is, to me it's beautiful. It grounds me and allows me to go back to living in a foreign country with the sense of knowing where I come from.

A tradition continues...

My family knows whenever you pick me up from the airport when I'm coming in from Stockholm, you are to head directly to a Tex Mex restaurant. It's what keeps me going through the grueling flight back. So as usual I landed in Dallas and went directly to eat it. Not sure if I embarassed my father with my almost jumping up and down gleeful response when they brought this lovely dish to my table. It was delicious but enough to feed a family of 5 so hope you enjoy the leftovers dad.