We are tired.
It has been a long, nice summer.
It feels like we haven't done much, but 2 moves in one year and one in the planning next spring are a lot to deal with.
We really need to re-charge our batteries!!!
Luckily our animals are all doing fine, Cleo is enjoying sunny afternoons and the walks and Mika's paw is healing nicely.
He's not longer wearing a bandage.
We need to watch over him a couple more days so he wan't chew on it too much.
But he'll be fine I'm sure.
He needs to re-learn how to use his second paw, it's still a bit stiff. But he's young and in a couple of days he will be back to business as usual.
:))
We are dieting a bit.
We try to eat healthier and reduce sugary stuff as much as possible.
Not easy when almost every product you buy in the supermarket, from bread to soft drinks and so on, have lots of sugar in them.
We are saying NO to deserts and chocolate, but that is "easy" (just kidding).
Saying NO to the "hidden" sugars and their substitutes is not so easy... simply because you don't have much choice it seems.
We "civilized" people are so spoiled with food. And we are blind. And we don't even know anymore how a simple potato or a piece of cauliflower tastes without salt.
Or how yogurt tastes without sugar and fruits (meaning artificial flavors and artificial colors).
Now they are selling Water in I don't know how many different tastes!
It takes forever to find a bottle NORMAL, still water in the shelves!!!
And even then, all the different bottles, the different brands... none tastes the same.
I don't even know anymore how NORMAL water tastes.
Is it supposed to "taste" like something or not.
Some brands taste strange to me, "Evian" is the most neutral to me.
Vegetables.
Do you buy them fresh (asparagus from chile can't be fresh really!) or in cans..?
Or frozen...?
Fruits.
Is it good for you to eat all kinds of fruits all year around or is it even necessary?
Do you buy organic or not?
Can you even trust that organic is "clean"?
Milk.
I love milk. Always did.
Did you know that Milk is not good for grown ups???!!!
It's not!
It inflates your belly and your airways get all phlegmy.
We drink lactose free milk now. And we eat lactose free yogurt.
We are lucky that sweden's supermarkets offer lots of lactose free products.
And they taste very good!
Really.
Well, I could go on like that forever...
Fast Food...
It's so easy and ....fast.
Often cheap too.
It takes time to prepare a proper, healthy meal, doesn't it.
Fast Food tastes "good". And it always tastes the same.
We are so well trained, we eat what they sell.
Training starts so early, it starts with baby food.
Hipp & Co are doing their best to make sure we love spagetti, pizza, lasagne and meatballs.
MacDonalds & Co is also making sure that we feel like we are in Disney Land every time we visit their restaurants.
You see, life around her in the civilized world is full of temptation.
Sometimes I really wish we wouldn't be so (sorry, have to speak for myself here) fixated on food.
What is food really for?
It has to feed you, right?!
It has to give you nutrition and help to keep you alive.
It should taste okay to, right?!
Suddenly I get the image of a pizza in my head, a pizza I ate weeks ago.
We picked it up in our local pizza butik, means pizza "store".
The ham on that pizza was as pink as baby cloth!!!
Yak!
I really need to change my "relationship" with food.
I really do!
I need lots of "brain food" lately.
Nuts and stuff, you know...
Learning a new language is fun.
Every day I get more confident to use some words or short sentences in daily life.
:))
Hope to get a hang on all that grammar stuff soon.
Swedish grammar seems to be quite complicated...
But I was able to learn german, english and dutch grammar, and swedish is not too different to the german. So...
Gotta go and study some vocabulary...
Ha det bra! (Means someting like "Bye, have a good time" or "Take care"...)
God natt! (Means "Good night"! )
:))
Real water comes out of the faucet. lol or a well. why waste money on bottled water? never did understand that...I like fresh and frozen veggies, not much on canned stuff. yuck. I love milk too. We drink a lot of milk around here! It's especially good - really cold with a huge piece of chocolate cake! Mmmmmmm...debbie
ReplyDelete@ Debbie Thanks for commenting! :) It's early here in Sweden and it's slowly getting lighter outside. Yes, I love water from a well, nothing better then that!! But unfortunately water that comes out of the faucet doesn't taste good always. It tastes either like chlorine or bitter from all the fertilizers, or it's brown... I prefer tap water too, but only on the country side, and when it's coming from a deep, well functioning well. Not always a guarantee around her I learned.
ReplyDeleteBottled water is a big industry...
About the canned veggies (and frozen)... they say it has much more vitamins still in it then "fresh". Veggies loose lots of vitamins on the transport to the supermarket, and while laying in the shelves...
And COLD milk with chocolate cake is the BEST! I agree!!! :)
You have been to America, I think, so you know we actually do drink from the tap (Hahn). The lucky people live in the country and have a well, cuz that water always tastes great compared to city tap water.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first came to Germany, I thought the tap water was not drinking safe, (I refused to even brush my teeth with it) and noting that no one drank it, my opinion was proven. Way later I learned you can actually drink the tap water here. Just, for some reason, no one does. (???)
My favorite water now is the stuff that comes out of our hose in the yard, that is always so refreshing, and I have not learned how to drink sparkling water fast when I am really thirsty.
Maybe in a few more years.
~lytha
p.s. Why don't Germans drink tap water, if it is safe?
@ Lytha... cause they are "stupid"!?? ;-) It's safe on most places. But bubble water is much more "modern", much more cool to drink.
ReplyDeleteTap Water is just too "normal" for many european people... When we have visitors from Austria we have to have bubble water in the house...
"too normal" huh? But people here are so frugal, with their rain barrels on every corner of the house, don't they realize how much cheaper tap water is?
ReplyDeleteIn America, as you know, when you sit down at a restaurant, the first thing that happens is the waiter places a tall glass of ice water at each setting, along with a menu. My man was so shocked at his first visit! "We didn't order water!!" he exclaimed.
I recall the day my entire family came to Germany for my wedding, and we sat down at a restaurant.
They knew that water costs money here, and it is always sparkling water. No one in my family likes the taste (feel) of sprudel, so they all ordered tap water. All 9 of them said, "Leitungs wasser bitte" to the total confusion of the waiter. (But don't worry, the waiter also got an American style tip for her trouble!)
hehehehe
Strange how water culture changes with time and location...
~lytha
Ja, i know it is funny in restaurants when you order water, now they often sell " energetisiertes" water because they are afraid they miss out on good business.
ReplyDeleteI grew up never drinking leitungswasser, only "Saft", water with fruity sirup in it, or bubbling stuff. I started drinking tapwater when I was 15 or so and now I always prefer it over bubbles... Here in Sweden it is ok to order tapwater, in Germany and Austria you get still strange looking faces...
You certainly deserve to take time out to recharge!!! Enjoy!!!! ~Janine XO
ReplyDeleteHBFG, you raise some interesting questions. I use the tap water but often put it through the Britta filter as it seems to taste better. The bottle water is expensive and causes to much plastic pollution. I buy my fruits and veggies from the local farmers markets and tend not to buy a lot of fresh fruit or veggies in the winter unless it is coming from our west coast to do my tiny bit not to buy fruit etc that has burned so much fossil fuel to get it to my table. Love cold milk but drink skim. In winter I stock up on frozen foods as they seem to have less salt poured into them. Funny how spoiled we are by all the options we have.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your kitten is looking recovered from his misadventure. What a cutie!