Vanja in Skansen

Stockholm in February - more than gloom

Moving

Very soon, we'll have a Manhattan view from home. 

First booktour ever

While in Sweden, went to the city of Karlstad where 1100 kids 

between 5 and 8 are working with my book in school!

I got to meet librarians, teachers and some of the kids. 

Was among the most fun things I've ever done. 

The kids asked me a gazillion questions - did I know Henrik Lundquist as we both live in New York, how come I'm a grown-up and know about Minecraft, can I do any kind of flips, what's my favorite food and colors etc. 

Then they told me I should try to learn a new way of writing my autograph cause my current one wasn't all that great. I see their point. We all agreed my autograph looks a bit like two random pieces of string. I'll post a pic here later and you'll see too.

The book is about a boy who really wants a pet but his parents say no so he decides to get a carnivorous plant instead. And then he gets to borrow a hamster and trouble ensues.

One kid who read it said she also had a carnivorous plant once, but sadly she fed it crackers so it died.

So much fun writing for kids. Working on finishing touches on my next book now. 

And starting book three. It's happening. 

with dad

I LOVE MY DAD.

I just want to post this to keep it

Stockholm

Niki and I are in Sweden now

Feels like this (though pic was taken in Brooklyn).

I heart poor jokes

I find this touching

Boyfriends and dads, express your wishes more clearly.

And if you're in Korea and Japan (or even Costco), just walk out the door and look around.

Surfers

Do you also practice for wipe-outs by running on the bottom of the sea holding a rock while acting as a locomotive for a band of swimming friends?

Find more amazing pictures here. 

Ps. If you're into surfing and/or docus, don't miss Surfwise. It's on Netflix.

So interesting

clicketity-click image or link:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2015/02/05/382664837/map-the-most-common-job-in-every-state

Getting to school

More here

Being the youngest sibling

Before the collagen took off

And before I had three kids, I dressed more decolletée.

Language lovers, did you see this?

More here

ps. Thanks Maria. 

My daughters

Vanja is now almost as tall (or short) as me and wears the same shoe size and borrows my clothes.

Niki still has some growing to do before she can wear my shoes. 

Also remains to be seen: whether she gets my nose or not. 

Fires, birds

A storage facility was on fire in Williamsburg yesterday. The smell of smoke and ashes filled the air. 

We watched from a distance. 

I later saw the fire from the ferry. So strange to see fire from a boat. With this fire, so close to the water, there was even a special fire fighting boat shooting jets of water at the fire. 

I was on a boat once that caught on fire. It was very scary. 

Here's another fire/water related story. It's old but I think about it every time I hear of a fire. It's Samuel Pepys rapport from the fire of London, September 2 1666. Those birds:

So I down to the water-side, and there got a boat and through bridge, and there saw a lamentable fire. Poor Michell’s house, as far as the Old Swan, already burned that way, and the fire running further, that in a very little time it got as far as the Steeleyard, while I was there. Everybody endeavouring to remove their goods, and flinging into the river or bringing them into lighters that layoff; poor people staying in their houses as long as till the very fire touched them, and then running into boats, or clambering from one pair of stairs by the water-side to another. And among other things, the poor pigeons, I perceive, were loth to leave their houses, but hovered about the windows and balconys till they were, some of them burned, their wings, and fell down. 

I love Stockholm

Back from the homeland

I just came back from Stockholm. 

If you go there, don't miss out on the window displays of Ulla Hannertz' store VIC on Skomakargatan 5 in Gamla Stan.

What, you've never seen a fish hooked up to an IV before?

Just one more link: Bored and Brilliant

I find this very interesting.

The peripatetics had it down.

https://www.kth.se/en/aktuellt/nyheter/promenadseger-for-ga-seminarier-1.535100

So impressed

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/01/22/378904803/x-rays-open-secrets-of-ancient-scrolls

Perhaps one day, I'll go to Mongolia too

Such beautiful pics here.

Resolutions, revisited

Back in january of 2014, I made a few resolutions. 

So how did I do ?

In 2014 I resolved to:

Get my first book published. YES! THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

Sort out my taxes. Kinda.
Learn how to salsa. Lo siento, didn't happen.

Visit a medieval castle I've been needing to visit for years. Not really. Though did go to medieval festival and saw my 7-year old beat a knight in a sword fight. Also went to Medieval Times.
Master my new camera. MASTER IT. Get down with f-stops and apertures and bracketing and everything else. No. But love the camera. 
Salsa with the camera in a medieval castle then write a book about it. The taxes will just have to sort themselves out meanwhile. This dream still has to be realized. 

Fashion

Just browsed a little H&M online. This look intrigues me. 

If it looks like this on a model, how will it look on a regular person?

It's avantgarde in its own affordable way.

Oversharing

Yesterday in Central Park, I saw a very large bird hunched over his/her prey: a squirrel.
It seemed fascinating to me, to see such a big bird up close.
I stopped a few Italian tourists to share this unusual sight.

Disgusted and shocked at my suggestion that anyone would find such a scene interesting, they took off from me in a hurry.

So much for sharing.

Bear feed

I screengrabbed this image from the livestream from a bear mother's den:



Most of the time you just see the mama bear relaxing. But every now and then you can see her tiny little baby cubs too, as in this pic.

Ps. Tack Cilla!!

ps 2. Whole livestream link if you find blue text confusing (hi mom).

http://www.helahalsingland.se/allmant/halsingland/live-fran-bjornidet

New blog tip for the middle aged

http://laphamsquarterly.org/communication/charts-graphs/marginalized

Ps. Thanks Emily!

Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume

I LOVE Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume. Can't get enough of them.

I never read their books as a child, they weren't big in Swedenland.

So I've discovered them now, at this ripe age.

It's never too late!