Monday, January 31, 2011

Weekend in brief

Scott laid our radiant heat this week and only needs one more day to finish up.


Downstairs.


Upstairs


Bathroom. Kevin, our tile guy, is going to start laying the floor this week. It's starting to shape up. Here's the tile we settled on!


We got closer to a decision on our yellow wall this weekend. We looked at swatches at different times of the day and narrowed it down to this one. It's still up for discussion a little bit. This room gets very bright in the morning and the rest of it is white so the yellow has to be soft and non abrasive and I think DALILA fits the criteria but we want to get our decorator friends involved in this one.





It was a short weekend and I wanted to make food but didn't quite have the energy for a long-cook or anything super involved so we decided on cheese FUN-due which we ate while playing cards.


Boil 1 cup of wine


Melt 1 tbsp butter
Mix in 1 tbsp of flour and cook and stir for a few minutes.


Combine the two.


Start adding cheese in cubes. I used 7 oz of Gryuere, 7 oz of Emmenthaler, 7 oz of sharp cheddar.


When it's smooth add 1 teaspoon of dry mustard and 1 tbsp of lemon juice.


We dipped toasty bread, ham cubes and sauteed mushrooms. 


It's hard to go wrong with cheese. Lots of cheese.


For sunday brunch I used the left over fondue and made Croque Madames, with english muffins, ham, cheesy goo and a fried egg on top. 


In other TERRIFIC news. Looks like I'll be heading home to Sweden for the month of April to shoot a short film that Lovisa is directing. It was just announced at the Gothenburg film festival that ORANGERIET is one of the chosen projects to receive funding this year. Sara Bergmark Elfgren wrote the spooky screenplay. It's super exciting and I'm watching movies like crazy to get inspired for the look. It's a very visual script and an awesome privilege and challenge for me. The film will premiere at the festival next January, so that's another trip to look forward to. 2011 - you rock so far!!!



Whose that behind the camera? John Shim is the keygrip on the feature I am currently working on and I get to play operator a little bit.

Gotta go to work!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Random Snaps


Yo Svenska! We got snow too.

Just felt like sharing some random thoughts. Firstly, the tapestry I bought in the market in San Juan de Chamula found a home this weekend.


It will probably move around a whole lot but for now this corner is very suitable!


On our month long trip in Baja we stopped in Cabo Pulmo for a few nights. Cabo Pulmo is known for diving and snorkling. We also swam with sea lions and did some top notch whale watching.

James and I like the zoo and a bunch of years ago we encountered this guy at the Bronx Zoo. 


The illusive, mysterious and super cuddly snow leopard.


My Christmas ham became green split pea soup right before I left for Sweden. I soaked the peas for a few hours as I boiled the left over ham bone in 1 gallon of water. After that we got the goodies off the bone and I boiled it all together. Added marjoram, salt and pepper. There may have been an onion in there too. 


Planning for the bedroom. A yellow wall? 


We stopped by Iceland on one of our Sweden trips. That was the most magical place I have ever been. We got a recommendation of a place to eat by a guy on the plane. The Sea Baron. Not the guy, the restaurant. Best lobster soup in the world. Even The New York Times says so. I saw a fancy sea food place in my mind so imagine our surprise when we stepped into this hole in the wall. Awesome. 


Stitched together our bedroom in photoshop. It's so... BIG. I cannot wait to move into this space.


This is the potential yellow wall. Yellow paints have the happiest names. And tasty too... Safari Sun, Peach Butter, Instant Delight (hm, doesn't really give a clue to the shade but who doesn't want instant delight???), Hawaiian Passion (yes please, I may paint every room with that one!), Refreshing Mimosa (oh, now I have to build an addition to the house), OPTISMISTIC YELLOW, or simply CHEERFUL, Gusto Gold and

 Social. Butterfly.

I went to Sturgis bike week on a job, an HBO show called Family Bonds. It was quite insane. I even broke my foot. Shooting was pretty much non stop.


But there was some room for play too.

We are going back to work. Looks like Scott will come in this week and start the heat. Then it's bathroom floor time!



















Saturday, January 15, 2011

Good night Erik (1914-2010)


So I went home. I left on January 5th. Took a bus from New Paltz. Then another bus to Newark. Then a 7 1/2 plane ride. Then a 3 hour bus to Örebro. Sweden is in the middle of another record breaking winter and I was all about it.


On friday night we drove up to Goat Valley, Getingedalen, where Kajsa and Gizmo live. 


An insanely gorgeous winter wonderland.


Getingedalen.


The old workshop.


The new workshop. Which also has a boutique and a garage. I did some late night "shopping" during my stay. For instance this handsome wood carrier that has already found a home by our fireplace. Handy!


We had Gizmo's home made pizza, baked in their wood burning stove. Heaven.




I spent the night and woke up to more snowing.


 Idun (only the coolest dog in the world) and I ventured outside.


Idun is a fetching fool. She would run herself into a coma if you just kept throwing. The item of choice this fine day was a frisbee. I really tried to stick to the shoveled path but sometimes it would take off unexpectedly. She tried to get it once or twice but after that this is the look I got:


Really? Really. So I got it myself and then we went back inside.


Where we plonked ourselves in front of the fire to watch a movie. A Somewhat Gentle Man with Stellan Skarsgård. Entertaining. 


If you go for a fika (coffee break, preferably with a baked good on the side) in a kondis (sit down pastry shop) in Sweden and you order a sandwich this is what will likely appear. Ain't she a beaut.


It's almost Semmel time! Fat tuesday is the correct day to start eating them but these days we cheat a whole lot. Semla is something that was traditionally served at the end of lent. Only bread was to be eaten during lent so people started digging holes in the bun and hiding goodies. A Semla today is a sweet bun with the top cut off. Then you dig a little hole and fill it with almond paste. Then whipped cream and you place the top back on and then sprinkle powdered sugar on it. I like it best served in a bowl with warm milk. If you follow the wiki-link as I did you will also learn that Semlan partly killed our King Adolf Predrik in 1771. So be careful.

Tuesday the 11th is the reason I came home. Grandpa Erik's funeral. 


It took place in Längbro church, the church where both Kajsa and I were baptized and confirmed. We also spent many years as part of their choirs, and Erik had asked for the service to be held here.


It was a very beautiful ceremony and we all got to say a special last good bye to our dad, husband, grandpa, brother, father-in-law and uncle. We were a small party, 15, another last request from Erik, only the closest family was to attend. 


Erik's little brother John (88).


We gathered at my parent's house for dinner. Erik had asked to be here after the ceremony. He considered Flugis his second home.


My sister Kajsa.


Grandma Annalisa with her kids. My mom Agneta and little brother Pererik.


Annalisa will be 95 this May. On April 12th she and Erik would have celebrated their 70th anniversary.


Little cousin Anna, Pereriks's daughter.


Dad reads telegrams at dinner. Erik asked for people to not buy flowers but instead donate money to doctor's without borders and a foundation that plants trees in Africa.

Guests also included Perra's wife AG, John's 2 sons, Lars and Per with wife Irene and son Kristoffer and Gizmo.


We play croquet once a year in my family and this is the group photo from 2008. Erik was 94 but still took part.

My very own special memory of grandpa is that he accompanied me to NY for a week when I was in college. He was 85 and he still had an urge to travel and loads of curiosity about the place that had become my home. He also started teaching himself English late in life, translating National Geographics with the help of a dictionary, calling it his crossword puzzle. He followed James around Flugis when we visited and would strike up random conversations, just so he could practice speaking. You had to be a bit of an interpretive listener, but yikes - A for effort gramps! 

He will be missed by us all. It's a beautiful thing we have such great memories of him!


Hej då lilla morfar. Sov gott.