March 2011

March 1, 2011

After our family Home Evening Lesson we played games. The Young Adults love to play games. The first one was a Hand Shake one. You had to introduce yourself and then move to the next person and the first one getting everyone’s name was the winner.

The next game was a 2 man relay. Trust me this was not easy. It took real coordination!! You and your partner had to get to the chair, go around it and then back and tag the next couple. Neal’s team won. I am sure they cheated!! Ha

 

 

March 3^rd

Transfer Day

This is always a fun day. The missionaries come to the center by train and bus and then wait until their new companion shows up and then off they go to serve in a new area with a new companion, almost always someone loses their luggage, or misses a train. So it has its excitement. 

  

             Johnson, Winegar, ? Rice and Lampian

 

Rice, Winegar, Bush, Johnson, Davis

 

Bush ?

 

March 6^th

Stake Conference

Our Stake church boundaries cover a huge area. It covers all of Skåne which is an area of 70 miles high and 120 miles wide. The conference was held in the Star Hotel in Lund. We used their auditorium. We had many really good speakers

The artworks on the sides of the auditorium were really unique.

After conference we were invited to our friends the Wiklöfs for dinner.

Neal, Mary, Sister Mathews, Sister and Brother Wiklof.

Sister Mathews was visiting Lund. She and her husband was the Sr. Couple serving in Lund in approx. 2006-7. We enjoyed her visit and she enjoyed visiting the center and visiting with many of the YSA.

March 7^th

Family Home Evening

Tonight after our lesson we made Semla Buns. We bought the cardamom wheat buns and cut off the top and scooped out the insides. We then filled some almond paste in the bottom and filled it with whipped cream. Swedes do not put sugar in their whipped cream! Then put the top back on and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. Yum! They are in the bakeries from the end of December until Easter. The bakeries sell tons of them. We love them. Tony was our expert on how to make them.

March 8^th

Relief Society Night Smörgostortas

This was really quite a night for me. I had never seen anything like this before. It was truly a work of art. This is something that is served for special occasions. The women love to make them. I was totally overwhelmed. I will have to find my recipe for this as all I can remember is that it started with a base and then one was covered with raw salmon then as you can see lettuce is next and then they pile on all kinds of stuff. Lemon slices are always on the fish ones and this one was topped with deviled eggs and caviar and then shrimp. This was my favorite one. It was so good, raw salmon and all!!

 

This was a vegetable torta

Then to top off the evening they had Swedish cakes they too were so good.

March 10^th

District meeting

We hold district meetings every Thursday. (The 3^rd Thursday is a Zone meeting)

Syster Page and Syster Tanner made Taco soup for all of us. It is a real American treat!!

In Sweden they have a tradition that everyone washes their own dishes. That sounds good but the way they wash them is crazy. They have a bowl on the counter filled with some water and then they put a couple of drops of liquid soap in the bowl and then take a brush and dip it in the water and then scrub up their plates, silverware and glass. Then they rinse it off. There is never a sink full of water. I find the dishes do not get that clean, but it is nice that everyone does their own dishes!!

The missionaries: Johnson and Grindstaf

Playing Foosball are Shear and Astin

               Our district Group picture

Grinstaf, Astin, Owens, Johnson, Davis, Shear, Page and Tanner

 

Davis and Owens

 

March 12, 2011

Denmark Temple in Copenhagen

We went to the Temple with the McKnight’s. They are a super fun couple to be with. He is from South Africa and has been in Sweden several years. He loves to joke around.He and his wife met at work. They still work for the same company and are in upper management positions.

Here we are on the steps of the Temple. The steeple is off to the side. This used to be just a chapel in Denmark and they turned it into a Temple. It is very beautiful inside.

The last time we were at the Temple the grounds were covered in snow. It is still very cold.

The McKnight’s on the steps of the Temple.

On our way back to Lund, before crossing the Öresund Bridge we passed by an LDS Bookstore. It made me think of home. Too bad it was closed.

 

March 13, 2011

Ducks in the Pond

As you know we live down the street from the Lund Park.

We just never get tired of walking through the park and stopping to feed the ducks.

In February the pond was frozen and it was thawing out in March. It is still super cold outside. When anyone comes the ducks come out from all their hiding spots to grab a bite to eat.

The swans always are so graceful and beautiful.

 

I thought you duck lovers would get a kick out of some of the different types of ducks in the pond.

 

 

 

 

March 14, 2011

FAMILY HOME EVENING

Tonight was Home Evening. After our lesson the group wanted to play “Blindmans Bluff”

Christian Schanner is putting the blindfold on Daniella Ronström. She will have to find someone to catch. The rest of the group do everything they can think of to prevent from being caught. They cannot go on the other side of the chairs.

Daniella really tackled Christian.

Now Christian is it.

Christian tagged Carolina Rönndahl so she is now it.

Now Christian catches Steve

Steve is heading towards Viki

He got her and game over.

We then had treats, visited and went home. This group of young adults really likes to play games!

 

March 16, 2011

DISTRICT MEETING TRAINING

A few times a year there is a district leaders training meeting, it is put on by our Mission President and his wife. They wanted to have the meeting at our center. Sister Anderson asked me to cook the meal. I made chicken and rice burritos with chips and salsa, with a green salad. I also made apple crisp for dessert.

Hungry Elders

Elders Jorgenson and Olsen with Sister and President Anderson.

Elders Winegar and Jorgenson are sitting out on our balcony at the Center

President and Sister Anderson give great training lessons. We were invited into the meetings and really enjoyed the time we spent with them. The Zone leaders also did training and they are also excellent teachers.

March 19, 2011

Fredrick Pettersson’s Wedding

Fredrick Pettersson was in our Young Single Adult group. He is one of the nicest people I have met. He met a girl from Finland, fell in love and they were married in the Finland Temple.

There was a reception for them on March 19. They had a nice program at our church in Lund.

This little girl just belted out a song. She has an incredible voice. We have heard her sing many times in church. She sings so beautifully it brings you to tears.

They also had some of his “Best Men” give some stories about him, they were all cute stories.

We have a baker in our ward Brother Rönndahl. He made the wedding cake. He designs a different cake for each wedding. They are delicious. He was getting real worried about the chocolate pieces melting and wanted the bride and groom to cut the cake but the bride and groom were so busy with people wishing them well that finally Brother Rönndahl politely brought them over to the cake so they could cut it and he could serve it!! It was delicious.

There was also a buffet. This is just one of the many different types of food they served. It is a Smorgustorta cake but made with bread and lots of salmon and vegetables. Actually very good!!

I really like Swedish food!!

The Wiklöf family is one of our favorite families in Lund. This is President Wiklöf with 2 of his 4 sons (they also have a daughter) with him are Christoffer and Jonathon.

Here is Charlotta Andreassen with Amanda, Malena and Emma Nilsson. These are 4 of the 5 girls that went to the USA for a fun trip. They were gone several weeks. They met up with my brother Bill who works in the LA area and so he spent the day chauffeuring them around LA They sure had a good time with him and he enjoyed them. Most Swedes speak English. They all spoke English. He took them to Hollywood Blvd so they could see the stars of movie stars on the sidewalk and also where the foot and hand prints are of the movie stars (Grumman’s theater) Plus other sites around the area. He also took them to see the LA Temple and Olivera Street where he treated them to lunch and had the mariachi singer play the guitar and sing. They had a good time with him. Thanks Bill!!

(Actually he should be thanking me as these girls are gorgeous!!!)

Here we are with the bride and groom

Bride and groom with his best men, Jonathan Wiklöf and Christian Schanner.

They are ready to take off and go to Finland where they will live. Poor ole Fredrick does not speak Finnish, and we know how hard that is to be in a country where you do not speak the language. Her parents do not speak English either.

March 21, 2011

Family Home Evening: Princess Cake

Robin Åkebrand and I were the only March birthdays.

This is what they call The Princess Cake that was served at the royal wedding. It is so good.

(If you have an IKEA in your area you can get one there!!)

March 22, 2011

Helsingberg Tower

This is the view from the top of the tower.

Here is the tower. I think I have shown this on the blog earlier but we just love it.

We walked through a park and thought this was a pretty pond. It is funny to see a pond almost empty. In the Spring it is full and the lawn is green.

We went to Helsingborg to go to a meeting at the church. We our outside the front of the church. I love the flag poles with the triangle Swedish flag.

 

March 26, 2011  Malmö

They have such pretty lighthouses in Sweden. This one is in Malmö.

Turning Torso

It is one of the 7 wonders of Sweden. It is marked as the 5^th wonder.

It is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic Countries.

They started building it in 2001 and completed it in 2005

The building is constructed in nine segments of five-story pentagons that twist as it rises; the topmost segment is twisted ninety degrees clockwise with respect to the ground floor. Each floor consists of an irregular pentagonal shape rotating around the vertical core, which is supported by an exterior steel framework. The two bottom segments are intended as office space. Segments three to nine house 147 luxury apartments. It is not open to the public.

It does not turn.

Beach front properties are real deluxe; they have great views of the Öresund Sound and The turning Torso in the background.

We loved the boardwalk. There was so much to see along the way. People sitting by the shore, overlooks, fishing boats, the Öresund Bridge and lots of people having fun

The harbor with the Öresund Bridge in the back. I love this photo.

We went by this cute park and Neal went crazy to see such a big mechanical object.. When we got up to it he discovered it is an art sculpture using large valves and a press frame.  

This is a huge dog park. People come and let their dogs run and play with other dogs. They are all off leach and all well behaved. I got a kick out of some of the puppy dogs wanting to play with great big dogs. When the owner wanted the dog back he gave a call or whistle and the dogs knew the call and would run to the owner. WOW Dodger and Lilly never did that for me. They have well behaved dogs in Sweden and everyone walks their dogs and they always pick up the poop. The park is open No fences.

We are standing on the edge of the dog park, behind us is the boardwalk by the beach with the Turning Torso behind the buildings.

 

Would anyone go for some fresh fish? Torsk is cod, Lox is Salmon I love both.

How about this view of the fish it is not as attractive but the fish in Sweden is really good.

We were stopped at a store and this car pulled up it had the top off and it was getting cold so they pulled over and were putting the top back on. I have no idea what kind of car it is but the men driving it sure looked like they were having fun with it,

March 26, 2011

Tekniska Museum

The Tekniska (Technical) Museum in Malmo is a very well done set of displays of machines and inventions developed in Sweden. These machines are well preserved and restored.

These 4 photos show a small steam locomotive with a view inside the cab.

This shows living quarters inside a small submarine boat.

Stationary steam engines and boiler.

Two views of a mobile steam power plant.

A pair of roller skates.

A mechanical sign.

A model steam boiler.

An early bicycle.

 

March 27, 2011 Landskrona

This is an old water tower. It was so beautiful sitting across from this lake.

 

Vasagatan Sign: This is how they put the street names. They put them on the buildings instead of on a pole. Sometimes they are very hard to see when you are looking for a street. I liked this one as my mom belonged to the Swedish VASA lodge in Los Angeles. We always participated in many of the Swedish traditions growing up.

 

March 28, 2011

This was on my birthday.

I love the Grand Hotel. We walk by it all the time so Neal took me there for my birthday.

Some photos of the inside.

 

It was funny how they served the meal. My potatoes were in the bowl. As you can see I ordered Salmon. Yum

After dinner on our walk home we stopped at a candy store and we bought Chocolate!!

When we got home I opened the presents from family and cards from friends. the kids got me a silver bracelet with a charm for each grandchild. Neal bought me a silver a crystal earrings. So I was spoiled. Thanks I savored the cards and read them over and over.

March 28, 2011

Family Home Evening: Waffle Day

Here is Christian Schanner making waffles. He wanted to do it his way!!

So while he made the waffles the rest of the group played a handshake type slap game it was hard to do as you had to concentrate and be very fast. They sure had fun doing it.

 

March 30, 2011

Once a month we have a church talent night. The Young Men and Young Women sponsor it. It is for the whole ward and guests. Sweden has so much talent. We always enjoy this night. Some sing solos, or are in groups they play instruments and the  middle photo is one of the YSA is a break dancer and he was teaching some of the moves. Sure was a fun night.

 

March 31, 2011

April fool’s Joke

Sister Tanner came out on her mission in March. So she had only been out a few weeks when we had our District Meeting. She told me that she and Sister Page were going to really pull a good “Aprils Fools Joke” on the Elders. So I was totally aware of what was going on but I kept out of it plus as you know I love April Fools Jokes.

This was the story she was going to tell the Elders that she had a boyfriend before her mission and they were kind of serious but she decided to go out on the mission and if it worked out then OK. So she announced that she was in love and had talked to the Mission President and he said that she should go home and get married. The Elders were listening with their mouths open. She led them on for the longest time. I personally thought that she would say April Fools any time but she did not. By the photos you can see she had them in the palm of her hand. Well she never did say April Fools to them and after the meeting they were still a buzz with asking her questions and congratulating her. I was so enjoying this!! Then they all left. Well she was going to tell them on April 1^st that it was April Fools!! Boy did she get them good!!