Homestead-y

Aside from last-minute Spanish adventures or cheering on drag queens in Stockholm, I've spent the past few weeks getting used to being in Sweden on my own while M is away at sea.  Everything is getting easier and easier now that I can understand a lot more Swedish (I'm still around the level of a 2-year-old as far as speaking, though).  I've picked up some extra work as a nanny for a few days a week, which should work out nicely with my Swedish classes once they start later this month.  Being around kids is by far the fastest and most fun way to learn Swedish...kids here don't start learning English until age 9, so it's not an option for me to wuss out and speak English with them.  They talk nonstop, usually seem fascinated by a silly grownup who can't speak correctly, and they love teaching me new words and correcting my pronunciation.

In the meantime, I've been crocheting (virkning) a blanket for M's cousin who is having a baby boy next month:

Hmmm....I don't think she reads this blog, so hopefully it will be a surprise!  I've also been on a potato-harvesting spree since M volunteered us to tend two 80-meter rows of potatoes on our landlord's farm.  I had never harvested potatoes before, but it's pretty fun...you turn over the whole potato hill with a pitchfork, then sort through the soil with your fingers and pick out all the buried treasure.

Lots and lots of potatis.

So far I've picked over 40 kilos (90 pounds) of new potatoes!  The new ones are small with thin skins, and you have to eat them right away or else boil and freeze them.  While I like potatoes as much as the next guy, I'm nowhere near as crazy about them as your typical Swede.  So, the majority of the potato harvest went straight into the freezer or was given away to friends and family...I'm sure it would've been a different story if I had been picking raspberries.  But, between the potatoes, deer, moose, fish, and wild mushrooms, there's something intrinsically satisfying about watching our big chest freezer fill up with fresh food from just outside the door.