Friday, May 31, 2013

Pansies for Mom


Today would have been my Mom's 57th Birthday. On this day in the years since she passed I have suffered on this day no matter what I do. Celebrating birthdays was such a pleasure for her, so it always feels wrong to be so sad on her's even though she is gone.

This morning I woke up feeling strangely good and I made up my mind that this year I would do  things she loved, celebrate her life and what she has taught me. I ate a slow, delicious breakfast: warm croissant with jam and coffee.


I went out to my garden and decided I would finally do something about the weeds and pansies that had grown wild in my front yard. It is kind of strange because pansies were one of my Mom's favorite flowers. I used to give her birthday gifts of various kinds with pansies on them since I was a child. Since spring has sprung in Sweden this year somehow the seeds from the pansies in my window boxes from last year spread seeds all over the yard.

My Mother was an avid gardener and today my husband and I decided to make her proud by taking the wild pansies one by one and planting them into brand new window boxes. We worked all day in the sun and sipped lemonade. In place of the wild pansies we planted dahlia bulbs, our wedding flowers. I think my Mother would have been proud of me. We honored her memory by taking care of her pansies and alongside them started new memories by planting flowers that have significance to us.


We worked so hard that I did not really have the time to feel sad the way I usually do. It is only now when I look at these photos do I shed some tears, but still with a smile on my face.

Thanks for teaching me to enjoy the simple and beautiful pleasures in life....I Love You Mom!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Kaffepaus på Kungs Gatan ( Coffee break at King's Street )




This Friday I made my getaway to Malmo for my fill of metropolitan action. Right after I got off the train I made a b-line straight for King's Gatan Cafe . I have been coming to this charming establishment since I came to Malmo for summer vacations, which seems like a lifetime ago now.



I always sit here, at the table pictured where I can sit with a typical Swedish breakfast and a strong cup of coffee next to the window so I can watch the city's population ride by on their bicycles. I also always pick up a Malmo city newspaper, only today I can actually read it.


 
I have always loved coming here because of the cafe's unique but traditionally Swedish charm. The floors are rustic and the furniture is all Gustavan. Having my breakfast here reminds me why I fell in love with Sweden in the first place. The feeling I get looking out the window of this cafe on the corner of an intersection where only bikes and pedestrians are allowed access is an experience I could never get in my home country .Sitting here nowadays  makes me see how far I have come from being an American here on vacation. I order my breakfast in Swedish and I can't help but ease drop on the conversation being had by the ladies who sit next to me, because I can now actually understand what they are saying. I hope her boyfriend stops flirting with the neighbor who lives on their floor soon...