Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/12/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Swedish children learn to count like that before they learn to count numerically ... da'n före da'n före da'n före da'n (the day before the day before the day before the day ...) On the day before the day, the day being Christmas Eve, my wife and I get up early and go to the market as soon as it opens: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2718.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2719.jpg Now mind you AND BE WARNED VEGETARIANS (I'll mark the shots you can safely look at), in Sweden Chrismas means we eat. We start on Christmas Eve and we make more food than anyone would possibly want and then we eat leftovers until the 13th day of Christmas. People in Scandinavia were poor, extremely poor. It's no slump that over 50% of the Swedish and Norwegian population emmigrated to America in the 1800's. The major part of the population was just a few steps ahead of serfdom, if any steps at all. (The Danes, Denmark being a farming country, have probably not had it as bad). So when the middle of winter came, they were getting pretty thin. Christmas meant eating that fat that you needed to get you through the rest of the winter. http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2731.jpg Those slabs are pig rinds with the underlying fat still attached. An interesting development stemming from the cultural enrichment due to immigration (the US has had this benefit from the very start, Europe more recently) is that pig is no longer the only thing you can find in the shops. Now we can by lamb all year: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2743.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2720.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2738.jpg or kangaroo: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2739.jpg or Irish crab, American lobster (alive or cooked), filé of cod or salmon http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2730.jpg We started with the "head-cheese" (I think that's what it would be called): http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2723.jpg Then there are all kinds of salami: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2724.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2735.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2744.jpg (Polish) http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2750.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2752.jpg even in the form of a little pig: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2726.jpg My favorites are the olives, fruits and nuts (vegan safe): http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2740.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2733.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2734.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2748.jpg http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2745.jpg (That's my parmesan up there in the middle right) But there's also: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2737.jpg (smoked shoulder) http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2753.jpg (air-dried wild pig and deer steaks) and your basic ribs: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2756.jpg Now by this time, she's was starting to wonder why she even bothered to bring me along: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2759.jpg But I insisted that it is impossible to take pictures if you have to carry all of those bags around: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2761.jpg I figured she needed a break, so we drank some coffee: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2766.jpg In the fish store outside you can order fresh (alive) carp: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2769.jpg And yes, there is even something for vegetarians: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2774.jpg but they might have to come back in May. We really torture out kids. Once they stop believing in Santa, we put the presents under the tree days in advance: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2781.jpg but they can't open them until the evening of "The day" (da'n). So they have to go the whole day just looking at them ... and the clock. Now you might wonder why on earth we would put the tree under the stairs. It's Christmas! and we have to create a pleasant atmosphere for the whole family, even the cat. This way he can attack it under controlled circumstances: http://folk.uio.no/danielr/Jul2003/DSC_2795.jpg Merry Christmas/Season's greetings to all! Daniel Ridings Lindome Sweden, Oslo Norway - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html