Nice views

Big buddy

Today's Bold Eagle Count: 4

Bald Eagle taking off in Sequim, WA from Julia Van Wagenen on Vimeo.

Björn Borg

Björn Borg used to be a really great tennis player. Inspiring and stuff like that. After his career was over (see how quickly we get through that?) he made the song “Alla vi (All of us)” with his new friends Dr. Alban, Thomas Brolin and someone else whose name is just a Google search away but not important enough to warrant one. The video that came with this song will live forever in infamy. When he is not making really bad pop songs, he designs some pretty sick underwear and that is probably where he will continue to make money. But rest assured - the Swedish people will never forget “Alla Vi.” Really, you have to watch it. It is a treasure.

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6:30 wake up call

Boulder/Denver

 

Roadtrip pics

Road trip pics

WA-OR-ID-UT-WY-CO-NM- more to come

Perks of being an ESL teacher

End or the year potluck with food from all over the world!

Apple picking

With Bradens homemade picker!

Good boy

Lakrits is exhausted after today's BAT-training- he was an excellent decoy dog!

Swedish Pop Culture 2012 - Bengt Frithiofsson

 

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to get paid to drink. What if you went to work every day knowing your liver would take a small beating but that you would have a great time no matter what? That must be what life is like for Bengt Frithiofsson, a wine taster that has worked his way up from the local paper to one of Sweden’s largest TV-networks, appearing on our equivalence of the Today Show. His accent and persona make him ripe for imitation and that happens – a lot. It doesn’t help that he sometimes appears to be drunk on TV, slurring his words and forgetting to tell the viewers the names of the wines he is reviewing. Perhaps it is because he knows what we all think, deep inside – nobody cares about wine recommendations on TV

Hurricane Ridge + Oak Table Cafe

I love love love this restaurant and the NW!

Swedish Pop Culture 2012 - Beck

 

A popular mystery novel series based around Martin Beck, a rather tired, disillusioned police officer that was later turned into a bunch of made-for-TV movies. Since 1967 the main character has been played by at least seven different actors in different countries, and some of the movies have nothing at all to do with the original books. My personal favorites (despite never having watched a single movie from start to finish) are the ones where Swedish and German television companies have agreed to split the bill, therefore having some of the cast speak German and later being dubbed into Swedish, and vice versa. It is truly a glorious moment in cinematic history.

Lunch in Poulsbo

Notice the Norwegian flag... Hoping to find some Scandinavian candy here after last week's disappointing IKEA visit!

Fluffy teddybear

Tomorrow he'll be in his new home- 40 acres in Kingston. We will miss him so much, but he'll be happy there.

We will miss him...

Swedish Pop Culture 2012 - Bandyportföljen (The Bandy Briefcase)

Pic from http://whiteroomstudios.blogspot.com

If you attend a bandy game you will see a lot of audience members with briefcases. It might seem out of place at a sports arena but it is an old tradition. Tradition mandates that it beused to transport a thermos full of warm coffee, mulled wine or some other hot beverage, usually with high alcohol content. It used to be that most games were played outside but as more and more clubs build inside rinks the bandyportfölj is slowly disappearing, because of new rules that forbid the audience from bringing their own drinks..

Swedish Pop Culture 2012 - Bandy

Ever so important once you get to the north of the country. Taking place outside on ice, the pace reminds you of soccer but the players are wearing helmets and skates. There are not that many countries in the world that play bandy, so we usually get to host the World Cup, which we are pretty proud of (read: ridic proud of). Attempts to spread the game to other parts of the world have failed, as it features a tiny orange ball that is hard to keep track off, making the game confusing. To its defense, most people who attend the games are drinking heavily which makes it exciting (see bandyportfölj).

Back from the vet!

Swedish Pop Culture 2012 - Bag in Box

It is either a bestial version of an ancient tradition, the best thing to have happened to Swedes interested in wine culture or the one product that will finally turn the entire population into alcoholics. I am talking about the bag-in-box. In the US the selection is horrible, but in Sweden you can actually get some decent wines in a bag-in-box. That means that even snobs can feel good about putting it on their tables. It also means that it is solely responsible (according to some) for the increase in wine drinking, since it is so easy to drink one, two, three or four bottles in one sitting. I am having a hard time understanding that reasoning, since the size of a bottle is arbitrary to begin with (it doesn’t make sense in ounces or centiliters) but perhaps I just don’t get it. Either way this wine transportation method did encourage some young gentlemen to create the smash hit “Bag in da box”. Also, the bag inside the box (aka the bladder pack) can also be used as a sleeping aide and is known in some circles as “the alcoholic’s pillow”. Try it out sometime