Posted on 26 June, 2023 in Family and Friends, Midsummer, Moving back

Annual assessment, Novalie, Juneteenth, Rockaway Beach, Swedish Midsummer, friends and many ´Til we meet again 🥲

Jun 13 and the biggest Congrats to Tim who turned 40 years old today! 🤩🎉 Johan flew off to Paris and I had dinner with Ilze at their hotel Moxy in East Village, a place with a nice vibe. We had such a lovely evening with lots of laughter and promises to keep in contact. ❤️

Olle and Elvira also “graduated” so now summer break is a fact. ☀️ Elvira did the California Achievement Test and I have prepared her Annual Assessment and Quarterly report #4 for easy submission before we leave here.

Wednesday, Jun 14 – This day Alma came (for the last time) to clean our apartment. The kiddos had their first sleep in of many to come. 🙂 So proud of Olle who won the prize and yesterday he was interviewed on a podcast and I have been told this will be broadcast on some TV channel too!

Today Suz and I had a great lunch at the Rigor Hill Market on W Broadway in Tribeca. We were the only ones sitting outside, in pouring rain and thunderstorms. 😉 The sandwich was amazing.

In the afternoon Adam called and told the chaotic story of Alfons being chased (apparently the third time in a short time) by an undeniably big dog in our backyard only some hours ago… The little girl holding the leash couldn´t restrain the dog so it got loose and started barking and running after Alfons, only inches apart with Adam seconds away chasing it like the great cat guard he is… It all ended happily for everyone and both cats and Adam are safe at home. ❤️

On this same day, Tilda face timed me and I had the opportunity to join her into the water for a swim in the lake. Longing to be in there with her. ❤️

Elvira discusses perfumes with the personel at Sephora ❤️

Thursday Jun 15 – Novis, one of Elvira´s besties, turns 14 today and her gift is to come here to visit Vira over the weekend! So happy for them, imagine to have your best friend over after a rather tough year… And you´re only like 13/14 yo old! It´s gonna be amazing.

Today Vira and I managed to book two appointments at the same time at our hair stylists at Fox & Jane! ✂️✂️

We also had the chance to hang out with Toffee, and when I dropped her off I got to give Andrew´s friend Brooke a hug as well.

Actually Elvira´s hair already looks amazing…

The last but one Friday and Johan is coming home from Paris and Novis and her mom Erica are arriving from Sweden.

This day was also my last appointment at Jay´s, mixed feelings… And oh, I am overwhelmed by the shower of hugs, and the wonderful and amazing words I received from both Jay and the girl behind the counter, such an ego boost! ❤️ And they refused to let me pay for this last appointment.

And ohhhhh my gooooood, so happy for Elvira!!! Novalie finally arrived, and the karaoke singing in Vira´s room is a fact! Thank you Erica for bringing your gorgeous daughter here!

Saturday morning and I left the girls at Jack´s wife Freda for breakfast with Erica. Then we took the Uptown train to Central Park and rented bikes and cycled around the park. A really touristy and nice way to grasp the park. Afterwards we strolled down to Times Square, and there Erica took the girls around the shops and then continued on Broadway, heroically! In the evening all six of us had dinner at Grand & Gelso. 🙂

The Mermaid Parade took place today in Coney Island, apparently the biggest parade in the nation! We didn´t go, but it seems a lot of fun. 🙂

Sunday, Jun 18 and all of us girls took the train over to High Street in Brooklyn and then we walked the bridge back. 🙂 Once back on Manhattan, we had lunch/brownie/coffee at the Tin Building and went on to Whitehall and hopped on the ferry to Staten Island. There we had cold brews, a frappuccino and pinkdrink at Starbucks and at last Elvira found her long yearned green denim jacket at Levi´s at the Empire Outlets! On our way home we went by the 9/11 Memorial and finally we took the train back home.

In the evening we had dinner at City Vineyard on Pier 26 and the service was so-so, but as the waitress explained, or rather excused the situation with was “Sorry, it is Sunday…” A good phrase to remember…🤣🤣

Jun 19 and the national holiday Juneteenth, marking the day when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. This day we checked out West Village, Chelsea, Little Island and High Line. Some of us also got to try the famous cronut, Shake Shack and a corndog. 🙂

In the evening, Novis and Erica took a taxi to JFK heading for Stockholm. Thank you so much for these fantastic days! ❤️

Johan and I had dinner at Manhatta on Liberty Street in the Financial District and they had the coolest rooftop bar 60 floors up! Then we closed the evening at Lola Taverna on 6th Ave. But before that, Malin and I managed to squeeze in a drink at South Soho Bar on Centre Street, I alway get so happy to see her.

The last Tuesday in New York… and a time for reflection. Today all four of us went to Planet Fitness for some running and working out.

The last Wednesday and Olle, Elvira and I took the ferry from Pier 11 the whole way out to Rockaway Beach in Queens. The gusts were breathtaking and once at the beach the sand felt like needles into your calves… It was a Red flag, but I am still so glad we went! Today I also returned Elvira´s last library book.

In the evening Andrew came for dinner, obviously together with Toff. 🙂

The last Thursday and I took a PW on the Hudson and then picked up some clothes from the tailor. In the afternoon I was invited to an After Work with Johan and his colleagues at Añejo, and afterwards we had dinner at Boqueria on Spring Street. In the afternoon Olle and Vira went out to buy Mimmi a little present for her first birthday on Saturday! 🎉

The last Friday and Swedish Midsummer 🇸🇪🎂🌸🎂🇸🇪 🌸🍃🌺☘️🌸

So this evening Rockefeller Park turns into a big festival site. Elvira and I will be there beforehand to help tie wreaths and then we will meet up with Karin, Mimmi, Suz, Carl, Anette and Malin with families. This was an amazing and fabulous happening at Battery City Park!

Today is also time to say goodbye to Chris, since he is on vacation as from tomorrow. We have bought him a little present and a card.

The last Saturday… Rainy and so humid. I went to the gym and ran 4 miles and in the afternoon Toffee was here. 🐶

This evening Jolie and her partner Jonathan came by and picked up Olle´s keyboard (he never tried to sell it…) for their comedian shows. How cool!

And Sere, our former real estate agent, who now works at Eklund Gomes, reached out to say hi and also sent a picture of herself with Fredrik Eklund. 🙂

The last Sunday and the city is preparing for the annual Pride Parade.

Everyone at 145 6th ave, #6B, NY 10013 is filling their suitcases and cleaning out the closets. I took the last walk down by the Hudson River and talked to my mom. She pointed out that the bittersweet feeling of leaving meant that we (and the kids grew into it too) have had a really good time here in this city and met lots of new friends and acquaintances to care for. And it is going to be so incredibly fantastic to come home to all family, friends, cats and Stenkilen! ❤️

Today Olle went to meet a couple of his friends from school and he came home with a bag full of presents! I shed a little tear over the whole thing, what efforts they had put into it. ❤️

Tonight we will have dinner with Andrew at the Ear Inn and he left Toffee at home, apparently they needed some time off from each other… We had a great night out and ended up downstairs at Altro Paradiso. Olle and Elvira had already left the Ear Inn to take Toffee for a walk after dinner.

The last Monday and today we move back to Sweden. It has been an overall fantastic, amazing and incredible year!! I will always cherish it in my heart and I have learnt so much, not least about myself.

Posted on 1 June, 2023 in Birthday, Family and Friends, New experiences, Toffee

Friends over, Birthday, Asian heritage party, showing the apartment and Manhattanhenge

Oh, how I love living here! I am slowly starting to realize that we are actually moving back to Sweden soon. So, now I tell my friends here – not Good bye, but Auf Wiedersehen, Arrivederci, Until we meet again… Johan must come here every now and then, and either if I go with him or maybe go by myself just to say hello and live the city for a little second, once in a while. 🗽💗

Marika and Fredrik were here for four days, and we had a great time with many walks and laughs!

Also, it was my birthday last Saturday and I was so celebrated. I even heard morning song, guitar play and got lovely presents and rhymes too.

The only thing that you could complain about was the weather, the rain was pouring the whole day! I am usually spoiled for glorious sunshine, so this one was new. But it didn´t matter, it was a fantastic day. 🙂

The next morning we had a really nice breakfast at Three of Cups on Sullivan Street. Highly recommended! Then we strolled up to Chelsea Market and on to the High Line. In the afternoon it was time for our friends to back home to Sweden. ❤️👋👋 Thank you so much for these days and see you soon!

In the evening, Johan and I were invited to Andrew´s place, which was the venue for this Grand Potluck, AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) edition. So Andrew was hosting this event and this guy Gary Su was the one who organized the party.

At Andrew´s – lovely homemade dumplings and many different sake´s

I have also done my weekly appointment at Jay´s. Today he had an apprentice, who will run his job on Tuesdays during summer. My homework until next week is to supply Jay with Swedish music – and he really does NOT appreciate ABBA…

In the afternoon I ran a 10K on Hudson, so easy to do when you have so many people to watch at the same time. 🙂

Olle came home from school and had seen Marcus Samuelsson across the street. 🙂 Next time, he has to stop him for a picture! He was apparently as smartly dressed as ever.

As from yesterday our apartment is out on the market again, mixed feelings as for so many things right now… So now we have opened our home to new speculators.

Little ducklings in the pond in Rockefeller Park

During the last weeks, we haven´t seen Toff much due to sickness. So finally Elvira and I picked her up at Andrew´s apartment, took a long walk along on the Hudson. A more energetic and happy doggy is hard to find…

Later on that week, Johan and I had dinner with Curtis and Jen at the Sugarfish on Spring Street. The Evens is a really sweet couple and the restaurant offered amazing food, and both Jen and me celebrated belatedly, as both had birthdays just a few days ago. 🎂

Last Saturday Johan and I walked down to the Whitehall Terminal and catched a ferry over to Staten Island. Elvira and I have been there once, but today we did a longer walk and ended up at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanic Garden. A very desolate and boring road to get there, but it was in itself a lovely excursion destination! We even got to listen to a band preparing for their Farewell show… The musical experiences just kept on coming, as a baseball game was about to start in the stadium.

Once back on Manhattan we met up with the kiddos who were down at the piers. Here also, a lot was going on with parties, music, Saturday runners etc.

Sunday and Mother´s Day in Sweden. This we celebrated with a long visit at the gym and also an amazing oyster lunch at Grand Banks at Pier 25. For dinner I made a nostalgic dish, which my mom used to make when I was young. I love you! ❤️

Memorial Day, May 29 and all four of us took the train over to Brooklyn and strolled around in Prospect Park. Designed in 1865, the park is considered Frederick Law Olmsted’s and Calvert Vaux’s masterpiece. Prospect Park is a milestone in the 19th-century movement to create naturalistic parks in America’s cities as a response to increased industrialization. He and Vaux thought of Central Park as their trial run, and when they started blueprinting Prospect Park they were able to correct their mistakes from the first time around. 🙂 For instance, in Central Park there are roads running right through, but Prospect Park’s road runs around the outer ring of the park, leaving meadows, ravines and groves untouched, so once you’re inside you can ramble through nature without coming into contact with a car or vicious jogger. The lake is also bigger and blessedly unhindered by tourists at the Boathouse.

Also, it was noticeably more multicultural than for example in Central Park on Manhattan with lots of different music vibes and food on the grills. Almost everyone was barbecuing (not permitted in Central Park), listening to music, playing games or flying kites. 🪁🍗☀️🏉🎸

This evening we had a late dinner at our closest restaurant, Altro Paradiso. A more luxurious Italian and it is located in the same block as we live.

Around 9:00pm there was this really bad smell of electrical fire, and I have never seen so many emergency vehicles at the same time. There had just been a fire accident one block away on Sullivan Street. It happened in an apartment on 4th floor in a 6 story building and a father aged 95 died in the fire and his son was seriously injured. So sad.

Manhattanhenge – sunset aligns with Manhattan’s street grid and Tuesday at 8:12pm it was time for Full Sun on the Grid. We walked up to 14th Street, and it was so crowded! My pictures do not make it justice, but it was a beautiful in real life experience…

Today was a Toffee-day, so cute after a day at the groomer. She both got a haircut and bath. She followed to the famous ice cream parlor Morgenstern´s on 88 West Houston Street. We had to keep her under close surveillance on the way home, due to an abundance of marijuana cigarett butts lying around on 4th Street…

Once back in our lobby, I emptied our mailbox and there was a letter from my chiropractor. A greeting card with a lovely text and a gift in form of a free birthday adjustment!

On Monday Toffee will be spayed and will then wear a bodysuit. We have been promised to come by on Tuesday and just give her som love and cuddle.

Next week is full of work events and dinners for Johan, I am invited to one of the happenings at the Knickerbocker hotel. Look forward!

Posted on 16 May, 2023 in Birthday, Family and Friends, Music, Toffee, Violence

Appalling start, chanced upon a Swedish painting, lovely happenings, Staten Island and Mother´s Day

First, I have to write about the commencing week of May – an awful start with lot of violence at a too close range. Monday started with an unhoused man getting killed in the Broadway/Lafayett subway. He had been allegedly yelling and ranting on the train before being subdued by another subway passenger, who chokehold him and it is now ruled as homicide. (Even seen it being covered in the Swedish news).

The day after, there was a slashing on Olle´s campus in Chelsea. There was an altercation between some students from another school connected to the same campus. One hospitalized but luckily without any life threatening injuries…

That same evening, Johan´s friend from primary school was here on holiday and ends up in the hospital nearly bleeding to death, after being attacked by a person with a baseball bat in Soho. Miraculously he is doing well after this head trauma and was able to go home that same week.

Rifle lottery on a bulletin board in the southern of US. Posted by angry person in one of the Swedish groups on Facebook. Also, misspelled…

Enough about those terrible incidents, and Imagine all the people, Livin’ life in peace…🎶

It really wasn´t all bad (except from also a quite tough food poisoning, I omit the all gross parts)… It was also a week full of great hanging out with some of my besties here, Ilze and I had an excellent lunch at Ladurée. Furthermore The Liljelunds had lunch with The Liljerts at Móle on Jane Street, a really tasty Mexican. Plus, Elvira and I were lucky enough to meet up with Karin and sweet little Mimmi at Soho Park on Prince Street for lunch, this was a great day…

And Tilda turned 24 on May 5 🎂🎁🌸🌷🌼🥰🐱❤️🐈.

On May 7 there was a bike race, and a lot of streets were closed to car traffic. This weekend was also full of sunshine, drinks and dinners. I also went to Chelsea to pick up a funny painting from a nice guy named Steffen.

So cool to get this painting, from one Swede to another

Monday morning and Elvira is reading aloud the article by James Baldwin, A Talk to Teachers from 1963. The article is about the history of black slavery will always be a boundary between black and white people in US, as it can never be forgotten. This is actually what Olle has been discussing in ELA in 11th grade, but not wrong for an 8th grader (or for a mother) to read, comprehend and try to analyze. Link to the persuasive essay is found here.

And finally, summer is here and will probably stay until October. ☀️☀️☀️

At last, we have found a spot of lawn for Toffee! She is allowed to walk, sit and lie on it. Unfortunately all she is aiming for is to eat the grass… Later in the afternoon she was all grunting, coughing and almost throwing up. Anyway, she is so adorable and she is sooo in love with Elvira – guaranteed a mutual feeling.

That same Monday it was 37 years since my dad passed away. ❤️ I then was the same age Elvira is now, that puts things into perspective… Here´s an amazing song, a tribute to a parent from a grown up child.

We also had the Exterminator over once again, it seems a hard work to get rid of those ants. They are probably entering our apartment by rappelling the facade from the garden on floor 7… 🤣🤣🐜🐜🐜🐜

Suz and I grabbed a coffee at Laughing Man Cafe last Tuesday and her dog, Lucky, joined the party. It is very interesting to hear about all Suz´s stories, as she has lived here in the city for nearly 30 years…

Last Thursday Elvira and I took a trip over to Staten Island! So glad we did and hopefully I get to go there once more before we go back to Sweden.

On 1 Train down to Whitehall St-South Ferry

Last Friday was a Jay Day! I really enjoy our small talk about music, books and writers, all of which take place during his spinal adjustments and manipulations…

This day I learnt about a book that he is currently reading, called The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven. He also loves Fredrik Backman, adores “Anxious People” and he has even seen the Swedish version of “En man som heter Ove” with Rolf Lassgård. He is still not sure if he wants to see the American version with Tom Hanks. 😉

Furthermore, he strongly recommended me to listen to BBC´s Desert Island Disc, especially the episode featuring Jens Stoltenberg. Jay is really into the Swedish and Nordic cultures, except that he will never get a Dragon Tattoo. 🐉🐉🐉

This same Friday, the temperature hit 87°F and that is relatively hot when in a city. Luckily, we have the Hudson River close by… Toffee also appreciates a cool drink in the shadows.

In the evening we hung out at Nat´s on Bleecker, a neighborhood local restaurant with New York classics but with a touch of whimsy.

Saturday morning and I did my first 10K run since Governors Island. In the afternoon we watched Eurovision (we skipped the broadcasting at the gay bar Hardware, due to no kids allowed 😉 ). And congrats to SWEDEN and Loreen, so cool!

Sunday morning and I awoke really early, since Malin and I were heading for Harlem and to the Misa Gospel Church. It was an exciting experience with African-American vibes and the entire service today was about honoring all mothers. We will give it another try with a Baptist church some other Sunday, where they might sing more of the common gospel we are looking for. But – so sad to see that East side of 116th Street is an area full of only junkies and unhoused people…

About Mother´s Day, it is a really big thing here. Also, two weeks prior to Sweden´s Mors Dag. I received congratulations from both our neighbor Andrew, and from the advisor of Elvira´s former school. In every store you are greeted with a “Happy Mother´s Day” (regardless of whether you have any kiddos around or not). And I got presents! Lots of hair care products – wrapped in gift paper and with rhymes! 💗

In the afternoon, Olle went to the barber for a haircut and then we just hung outside.

Monday 15th and the final day for Olle (if he wants to) to change his options for the Swedish highschool. All papers should be OK, so hopefully it will go smoothly for him to go back to school in Sweden.

We have a fun week ahead of us! Marika och Fredrik are coming here tomorrow and will stay until Sunday. We will probably do a lot of walking and sight seeing since this it´s their first trip to New York.

Next Sunday evening Johan and I are invited to a potluck at Andrew´s place, where we will celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. The Asian American Pacific Islander heritage recognizes the contributions, histories, and cultures of AAPI individuals and communities in the US, and we will be approximately 35 people at the gathering. We still have not figured out what to contribute, I was thinking if we can bring Vira´s classic Swedish “chokladbollar”. 🙂

On top of all this, our flight back to Sweden has just been booked for the end of June. There are many feelings swirling around at the moment! 🙂

Posted on 30 April, 202311 May, 2023 in Birthday, Family and Friends, Toffee

Best Product, Quarterly report #3, Hayden Planetarium, Friends over, B-days and Toffee back in da House ❤️

What a great two weeks we have had! It started out with temperatures around 88°F and summer was all over the place.

Johan was away in Vegas for the NAB Show for six days, where DanAds also were nominated in “Best product of the year”. And they won, biggest congrats!!! 👏👏👏

Elina and Johan at the NABSHOW – receiving DanAds´s award as Product of the Year!

Meanwhile, the rest of us hanged out on Manhattan. I had some lunches with friends, ran down the Hudson, sunbathed on the lawn at the pier and every water fountain along the Hudson River Park opened. 💦

Elvira got a little itchy rash on her hands and feet, so we went to the MinuteClinic and got some meds. This day I also submitted her Quarterly report #3 and I used the sentence “May include but will not be limited to…” in every subject. I have still not heard anything, so hopefully the report is accepted.

At the time of writing, Olle just received an email from “bildningsnämnden” in Sweden, asking him to submit his American grades. He is applying with his final grades from 9th grade, so we´ll see what will happen now…

A couple of weeks (!) ago, our dishwasher broke. A guy came over twice, just to inform that it will be replaced. No one really knows when, though… 😉 So at the moment we punish the dish soap!

Last Tuesday Malin and I had lunch at Björk, always so good food. The day after, Johan came back from Las Vegas and Olle, Elvira and I visited the American Museum of National History and also the Hayden Planetarium and we watched the show “Worlds Beyond Earth” in the Space Theatre. A really fun and interesting day.

On this day, Toffee also came back home – a happy reunion. 🐶

Unfortunately, she must have picked something up on the street or ate some grass, because she had some stomach problems when Andrew picked her up from her dog watcher. He took her to the vet and now everything seems to be fine with our little furriend.

A bit melancholic to walk past
Elvira´s old school

Last Wednesday the Skullmans came! 🥰🥰 They have been in NYC before, so we did almost no sightseeing, but more of our everyday life here.

We filled our days with lots of walking. One of the trips went over Williamsburg Bridge into the hasidic Jewish community. We were stopped in the street by two hasidic women, who told us a little bit about themselves, soo interesting!

Then we dived deeper into Brooklyn for some thrift shopping, or at least to look. Then we strolled down and walked Brooklyn Bridge home.

We made a stop at the Essex Market on the way

On Saturday we climbed the Little Island, had take-out lunch from Just Salad, checked out Chelsea Market and Washington Square Park. In the afternoon the Skulls went window shopping on Broadway, and I took a run at the Hudson. In the evening we had a table at Lena, Sébastien is starting to remember us. 😊

Sunday was a great sunny day and we took the A-train up to Lido in Harlem and had a nice lunch. From there we headed towards Columbia University and the whole university was filled with graduating students.

After this, we walked down to Central Park and wandered around in all the blooming greenery.

Happy B-day Oscar, turning 25 yo! 🎈 This day we celebrated with a palatable and delicious dinner at Tamarind, a really nice Indian restaurant in Tribeca.

The next day Cilla, Henke, Oscar and Edde left for Sweden. It was so nice to have them over and we´ll see each other in a few months. ❤️

In the afternoon we took Toff for a walk and also paid the library a visit, and we ended up with at least one new English book for Elvira to read.

I have finally visited a gallery. 🙂 It is located on Walker Street in Tribeca, one of David Zwirner´s four venues in New York. Suz and I went there to see the exhibition “So let us all be citizens”. Really colorful paintings by Bob Thompson, whose life was sadly cut short. After the exhibition we had lunch at Edward´s, a nice diner on W Broadway.

We will keep on being cultural, so in a couple of weeks we will visit a whole bunch of galleries around Walker Street, followed by lunch. Love it!

And of course we often hang out with Toffee. She has even been let into the dog park, and last time she met a new friend there, a 2 yo gentleman named Louis.

I both see Jay the chiropractor, and run my miles on a regular basis. Actually it doesn´t hurt as much as before, so I have big hopes of being fully recovered.

Last Friday Johan and I celebrated our 16-year engagement anniversary at a newly opened Italian, right around the corner of Sullivan and Spring Street. Closer to home is hard to find! Bandone is so new that it almost doesn´t show up on Google… A really cozy restaurant with maybe a little too small dishes, yet delicious and with such attentive and charming staff.

This day Alma came to clean the apartment, so Elvira and I first went to Ground Support Cafe to study and then we went to ‘Essen for lunch (first time and just around the corner). We had some wonderful laughs taking funny pictures and on the way home we played tag – never seen so many happy faces enjoying our game in the street!

_{(Note to self – remember to continuously still try to be spontaneously open-minded)}

Today is Walpurgis night – anyone heard about that in English?! Had to look it up, and there it was – Walpurgis… The thing that really counts though, is that Amos the famous turns 11 today. 😻

So today is April 30 and tomorrow we wake up to one of the best months of the year! Here, May 1 is like any other weekday so the kids have school. Meanwhile, I’m meeting Ilze for lunch at Ladurée in Soho. 🙂

Streaky rain the whole weekend… including lightning and thunderstorms

Hmm… after seven months of leaking problems in Elvira´s bathroom, they completed it with a hole in the ceiling, to channel the rising water into her shower drain. The dripping is visible in the picture…?! 😂

Posted on 12 April, 202312 April, 2023 in Easter, Family and Friends

Exhibition at the Met, Happy Easter, Spring break, Friends over, Cold Spring and Scandinavian Happy Hour :-)

Easter offered delightful weather with lots of sun and no wind gusts to talk about – even though the state government warned about the risk of brush fires on Saturday morning… And yesterday, there was smoke over NJ, when Olle, Vira and I were swinging on Pier 25, and we still have not found out the reason why…

Last Tuesday I met up with Suz at Franklin St. and we took the train to Columbus Circle. From there we walked through the park – so wonderful and all in bloom – to the Met on Upper East Side for the Avedon Exhibition. Richard Avedon, except for all the celebrities, he branched out into photographing patients of mental hospitals, the Civil Rights Movement in 1963, protesters of the Vietnam War, and later the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This was the same Tuesday as Trump came here for his indictment (here on Manhattan, and not in Staten Island 🙂 ) and also, Finland joins Nato.

We have, since like forever, had problems with a leak from Elvira´s bathroom ceiling. Finally (!!?) last Friday the craftsmen wrapped this project up. It took over eight months to get it ready, but now we hear that it´s done…

Last Wednesday, Elvira and I looked into the CAT, untimed. This is the California Achievement Test Practice that she will complete next week. Hopefully (and most likely) she will score high enough once she takes the real test, to pass the state´s requirements. 👍 ❤️

Thanks to Easter, you have an excuse for going to Allen Street and Bon-Bon for some Swedish candy. On Holy Saturday we bought some good stuff at the Essex Market and the Nordic Preserves; like gravlax, herring, knäckebröd and Kalles kaviar. After lunch, we arranged an egg hunt in the apartment. 🙂

Now it is like Swedish summer here in New York, with above 74 degrees F and warm winds. Last Friday evening we had some Swedish friends over – a fabulous, nice and very funny night with lots of laughter, good food and cool drinks. Thank you soooo much Staffan, Madeleine, Jasmina and Vendela for a full night out!

Johan, Vira, Staffan, Madeleine, Vendela, Jasmina and Olle

On Easter Sunday our family went to Grand Central Terminal and took the Poughkeepsie UpState train to Cold Spring. This is a charming little village on the Hudson River, with lots of picturesque shops, cafes and restaurants – and the mountains build up on both sides.

I´ve been trying to work out by running, both at the gym and and at the Hudson River Parkway, but the hamstring is really making it difficult… I go to Jay on a regular basis, but to be honest I do not see the progress I would have wished for yet. But however, I just learnt that “Jersey Girl” is not one of Bruce Springsteen´s original songs but Tom Wait´s.

Another thing that makes outdoor running more difficult this time of year, is all the people in the streets, parkways and river walks – it is almost like a Mikado game trying to find your way forward. 😉

Yesterday Johan and I joined the Scandinavian Happy Hour at Björk, and met some funny, but also some really peculiar people. 😂😂 Both Swedes and New Yorkers, it was a really jolly event.

We have 82°F today so the feeling is SUMMER! ☀️☀️☀️ This afternoon we have been hanging out by the water, and Olle did some plane-spotting via Fligthradar24. I have also spotted two butterflies, but unfortunately without any photo evidence… At noon I had an appointment with Hailey at hair salon. Always so nice to talk to her.

Tonight we will try the Locanda Verde, they have great food according to Johan who has been there twice with colleagues. So now – I will rummage through the closet for my flip-flops, paint the toe nails and Voilà – ready for a balmy night out on the city!
💃🥂☀️💅🏻🌇

Ps) Toffee hasn´t come home yet, as Andrew is still in California. I think she will come home this weekend. 🐶

Posted on 3 April, 20232 February, 2024 in Family and Friends

Family, running and sightseeing

Mom, Adam and Tilda came here on Mar 21, exactly eight months after we had left Sweden and thus just as long since I saw my mom! ❤️

In one of my latest runs something happened to my right hamstring, so I went to dr. Jay Heller to be assured of being able to run a race that took place last Saturday. I’ve been meaning to go for a long time, because something is wrong with both of my upper arms, and finally I made it to Johan´s chiropractor. After adjusting just about EVERYTHING, he just smiled and said -“Welcome to Chiropractic in New York.” Giddy, I left with a new appointment for the following week…

A couple of weeks ago Johan had his colleagues here from Sweden, so one evening the kids and I went to the City Vineyard for dinner, and got to sit in a dome. 🙂

On the 17th, Elvira and I took the train to 53rd St and watched the St. Patrick´s Day Parade. She also got study questions about this day, so we consider this day a good lesson in Social studies. 🙂

There is an abundance of materials, curriculums etc, so we have to settle for some topics in each subject. In math she has been working on integers and algebra and in ELA she is dealing with grammars and essays. The Civil War (except for Parade days) is being discussed in Social Studies and in Science we have had labs about density. In addition to all this, Elvira is reading an English book every weekday evening, working out, walking Toffee, doing a lot of grocery shopping, cooking and tidying her room (perhaps not as often as requested).

Spring, even if it feels like a tornado sometimes, is almost here – a wonderful feeling!

A lot of window cleaners around the city

We also had a really nice and fun evening at Liljert´s! Lots of laughter and the kids also had a great time. 🙂

We will soon have a LUS (Lunch Utan Slut) with Ulf and Mona at Felix, but since Johan had severe back problems, we had to take a raincheck last time. Instead I went up to Strand, I looove to hang there! And now I finally have bought a Strand Tote bag. 🙂

Amazing evening on our way to Peter Cooper Town

And so finally Annie, Adam and Tilda arrived! This was the first trip to NYC for my mom, so it was really amazing to show her our everyday life here, and also to do some sightseeing. Both Adam and Tilda had to study almost every day, so it felt like I had three kiddos in homeschooling… 😉

We managed a lot on the first day! Both the High Line, Chelsea Market and a rooftop drink at Johan´s work. And of course we had to introduce Toffee to the larger family. 🐶 In the evening, Elvira served us all a fantastic taco dinner.

Last Thursday, Annie and I also visited the Oculus, strolled around at Eataly, paid respect at the 9/11 Monument and went to the South Street Seaport.

Last Saturday I ran 10K in the Spring Fling race out on Governors Island. The weather forecast was precipitation with strong winds, so we planned for plenty of windproof clothing and umbrellas.

But as one of dr. Jay Heller´s more famous patients (both a cardiologist, runner and author) told Heller – there are no bad experiences in running, you just have to find the positive ones… And I just managed to finish the race before it started to drizzle. 💧💧💧

In the afternoon we tried to get into the MoMa, but everyone else must have had the same thought – so packed inside and the longest line up outside in heavy rain, made it impossible for us to enter. Instead we took the train home again and found ourselves a little spot at Broome Street Bar. 🙂

This Saturday also was Earth Hour. We tried to contribute, but as far as we could see all lights were on as usual over the city.

On Sunday we had lovely but windy weather and we made a little excursion up to Harlem and Columbia University and strolled down inside of Central Park.

On Monday we wandered around in both West and Greenwich Village, Little Italy and Chinatown and made a stop at Essex Market and in the evening all seven had a drink at the Manhattan Brewery.

Famous cronuts from Dominique Ansel Bakery – Adam´s favorite

Last Tuesday we had a really good dinner at Grand & Gelso, in the favor of Karin´s birthday back in Sweden! 🎂 🙂

The morning after we decided to go to Brooklyn to do some thrift shopping. Tilda marked out a bunch of vintages shops and then Adam, Tilda and I walked the Williamburg Bridge over to Brooklyn and there we met up with Annie and Elvira who had taken the train to Graham Av.

We started out with a lunch at a little place on Grand St called Rome to Brooklyn. This was one of the most funny lunches I have ever had! We started a conversation with the owner, a guy from Albania, who often visited Sweden because his brother, niece and nephew live in Solna. What a coincidence and a small world. 🌎🌍 We even made a recording of us speaking Swedish to his niece. 😂

For the first time, I finally came to visit the Swedish Church of New York. My mom and I walked the surroundings of Midtown and grabbed a coffee at the church, embraced Bryant Park and had lunch at Björk Café & Bistro and of course we said hi to Ulrica. It was really crowded, mostly because SVEA´s had made a reservation for a lunch gathering. I asked Ulrica about the difference between them, and the to me more familiar SWEA´s, but she couldn´t say either. 😉

Meanwhile, the big kids took care of the vermin exterminator in our apartment, who came to spray away some ants. Apparently they had never heard of ants on the 6th floor…

In the afternoon, Olle and I went to see Gloria at the Gouverneur´s hospital for, what we know, the last time. It is with a smile I will always think of her.

This was also the grand final evening for the kith and kin before one half went back to Sweden, so we decided to go to LENA for our last dinner together. Hahahha, what a night full of joy and laughter!

So, now both my mom and the big kids have left for Sweden and here spring is really showing its face. Almost 70 degrees Fahrenheit, soft winds and a lot of sun. And what´s more, we’ve survived this year´s April Fools’ Day, without any scams at all (that I am aware of, anyway). I have to post a nice attempt here below though. This sweet joke was placed on the windshields of Mari´s and Feffe´s cars back in Sweden. They were cheated in their own street. 🙂

Today I had another session at dr. Jay Heller´s. I totally love his genuine interest in sharing anecdotes. He is really into 60´s and 70´s music, and today I learned a little about a singer/songwriter called David Bromberg and also got some info about his violins.

This afternoon Johan, Elvira and I met up and went to the Li-Lac Chocolates on Greenwich Av in West Village, to buy some Easter Eggs for Passover. It´s Manhattan´s Oldest Chocolate House, founded in 1923 – so 100 years old by now. 🐰🐣 🐇 🐤 🐥 🌸 🌼

Tomorrow Suz and I are going to visit the Met for the exhibition on Avedon, so looking forward! And he was born in 1923, the same year as the Chocolate House was founded. Funny coincidence.

And most people are very excited about tomorrow’s verdict in the indictment against the former president, Mr. Trump…

Posted on 8 February, 202314 February, 2023 in Family and Friends

Spring in the air, Chinese New Year and even more new friends!

Time flies at the moment. New semesters, along with new friends, sunny days and awaiting visits from Sweden. 🙂

Finally we all have recovered from Covid, sinusitis and colds and I think all four of us see to the future with confidence. Both Olle and Elvira have new topics on their schedules and Vira for instance, is doing Dance this semester, which she is really happy about! February is Black History Month which is given much attention, especially in Olle´s school.

Last week was Lunar New Year and Chinatown celebrated the year of the Rabbit whole week thru.

Mission complete – the over Christmas leaking radiator, is finally removed and we have got a new one installed. However, the chemical smell during heating is still quite heavy…. Now we are only waiting for the painter to come and cover it in white. Though, we have another typical New York problem with the heating system’s loud cling-clanging during winter. Below follows the explanation. 😂🤣😆

What Is Steam Banging?

Trapped Water

Steam banging often wakes up tenants early in the morning or late at night, as that’s when radiators are heating up to greet the day or give people one last blast of heat before bed. This sound has been described as a hammer banging on pipes or someone knocking on the radiator, and it’s maddening to people trying to sleep.

What causes the banging noise? Once the steam has entered your radiator, it eventually condenses and must return in the form of a liquid to the boiler, where it can be heated up again to start the process anew. But if water becomes trapped in the radiator — or a section of the steam piping — it can start duking it out with the steam rising through the system, creating that terrible racket and reducing the efficiency of the radiator as a heat source.

There’s often a simple fix for this. Sometimes the radiator sits level on the floor when it should actually be tilted toward the intake valve, which sits between the steam supply pipe and the radiator, near the floor. If a level shows that your radiator is not tipped slightly toward the intake valve, you can increase the incline by shimming the far end of the radiator.

Usually, a wooden door shim or a couple of paint stir sticks purchased at a hardware or home supply store can be positioned under the other end of the radiator to tilt it forward. About a five-degree change should be sufficient. If this doesn’t do the trick, it may be time to call in the pros to see if there’s another cause for the noise.

I started my new online class in Mixed Media Collage last Tuesday and I completely love it! I have never worked with colors so much before, and it is quite a challenge but I immediately get into those flows once I hold the brush in my hand. 🙂 And Elvira´s pencil drawings are so amazing. 🎨

Feeling strong again, so I have hit the gym a couple of times and have also run down the Hudson River. And it seems that things are going well for Johan and DanAds too! They have hired a couple of new employees over the last months, and Olle and I went over to the office and said Hi to two of the new guys last week. 🙂 Go DanAds!

Olle and I have also paid Gloria at the Gouverneur Hospital our monthly visit, this time for Olle´s first HPV shot. 👍 Elvira also has been to a doctor at MinuteClinic for some tests, since she was so ill for over ten days. Nothing showed anything so now we are glad to see her lively and alert again.

Last Friday Johan and I went to Björk for a little HH. It was really nice to be back at the Swedish bistro, and also to say hello to Ulrica and some more newfound friends. I also got into a conversation with a totally new acquaintance, Karin with her little baby girl Mimmi. Two really cool girls! It resulted in them coming home to us this Monday for lunch and then a coffee in Brookfield Place. It was extra cozy, ‘cos Olle and Elvira had a day off of school, so they hanged with us all day. Next time, we will meet up at Karin´s in Park Slope in Brooklyn.

Something fascinating about the use of strollers here. Karin of course brought one with her when they came to us for a whole day, but when I first met them, she had Mimmi in a baby carriage because so few stations in the subway are ADA-accessible. Actually, the most stroller residents are DOGS! And they are not so seldom rather chubby…

This weekend we also had brunch with Malin, Pär and their sons Hampus and Jacob at Lido in Harlem. 🙂 Afterwards all eight of us strolled around in the borough and also went to Colombia College, established in 1754, you could actually feel the wings of history!

Last Friday I had a lunch date with Suzannah at Dante. I have walked by this restaurant so many times and it always looks so nice and cozy, and now I am happy to inform that the food pared up too! And in the afternoon Joy and Tim arrived here and will stay with us over the weekend. 🙂 Short visit, but so lovely to have them over. ❤️

Elvira hosted a three-course dinner the evening Joy and Tim arrived. Saturday was freezing cold (not like Christmas Eve) but fortunately not so blistery and the sun was shining from a clear blue sky. We went to Eately, which was the first time for me! A really nice place, and a soft oasis!

Sunday offered really nice weather without any winds, and lot of sun. We started our walk down the Hudson River on the west side all the way down to the Battery and continued up to Pier 17 and Tin Building on the east side. Our final evening together we spent at Tamarind, an Indian restaurant i Tribeca.

Joy and Tim went to Sweden last Monday and I have done my third online Multi Media class. Yesterday all four of us had dinner at Björk, lovely Swedish dishes like Räksmörgås and Smörgåsbord!

For the first time, I am going to participate in an event hosted by Swea! Today Malin and I are going to a pop-up opening for Maxjenny. 🙂 And tomorrow our neighbor Andrew is coming over for dinner, with little lovely Toffee. 🐶

Posted on 13 January, 2023 in Birthday, Family and Friends, Schools!

A New Year, Sweet 17 and applying to Swedish schools

Last Friday was a big day – Olle turned 17 years old, but still had to go to school! We started the day with morning song and presents and in the evening we had dinner at a Moroccan restaurant, Ives, in Tribeca. He also got a lovely cake from his friends at school. 🎂

After dinner, we strolled home and shared our elevator with a young couple and the girl started to talk Swedish to us. Her mom apparently is from Sweden and lives just a block away. Her boyfriend´s mom lives in our building, which they were heading to. Fun trivia. 😂

On Saturday Johan and I power walked through East Village and in the afternoon all four of us went shopping with Olle, he had gotten a gift card at Zara. All four of us even hit the gym on Sunday and also managed a visit at the Guitar Center. Olle is shilly-shallying about buying a new acoustic guitar with nylon strings. 😘

On Monday I got a text from Malin (one of Lotta´s friends we met for lunch last November), asking if we should grab a coffee at La Cabra in the afternoon. We had so much fun and decided to meet up with our families next time, so we will have brunch at Lido in Harlem in a couple of weeks. Also interesting to experience that borough a bit more!

Now, I have applied for Elvira to start Skolhagenskolan in August. Feels almost like when we moved here and had to fight our way into the school system. For Olle, we are waiting for him to receive password for applying to senior high school. Fingers crossed.

This week Johan has a bunch of colleagues over, so he is quite occupied with meetings, dinners and also a trip by train to Washington DC. I would have loved to join! Instead I am going to botanize among my recently delivered painting stuff from Blick, since the online class starts soon. 🙂

I have also been to my hair stylist Hailey this week, and it is so much fun to chat with her. On my way over to Fox & Jane, I took a detour through Chinatown and walked, to me, new streets.

Yesterday, after school Elvira and a friend went to watch a basketball game with the boys´ team from her school. 😊 Olle and I took the opportunity to do some running on the treadmill at Planet Fitness. 💪

We have some problem with our radiators and pipes leaking water, which has resulted in some floor boards bulging upwards and Gabriel, connected to the owner of this apartment, tries to get a plumber here to look at it. But there are always some excuse for not showing up, so I wonder if there is a jinx on this radiator!

Tonight we are going to try a new Italian, Extra Virgin 😉 And if the weather allows, tomorrow Olle and I will run down the Hudson River Greenway at dusk, it is a different ambience to it when it is getting dark. On Sunday Ilze and her family are coming over for dinner and on Monday schools are closed due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Finally!! Part I completed…

Posted on 5 January, 20236 January, 2023 in December, Family and Friends

Christmas and New Year´s Eve – in New York City – with all the kids!

It is with a little gloomy feeling I am writing today. We have had such a lovely time during the holidays, and I already miss them. Adam, Emma and Tilda went back to Sweden last Sunday, on the first day of the new year of 2023. It all got so quiet and with a realization that the four left of us, actually are living here. 😉 Of course I know our stay is timed, but nevertheless – at that particular moment, time is not quiet counted normally.

Something nice here – the weather! 63°F and sun, RealFeel like April. ☀️

We have experienced a lot during the holidays! We started out with a lunch at the Tavern on the green in Central Park, all seven of us. Absolutely good food, but I had missed the little thing about them only serving Christmas Eve menu on Christmas Eve with fixed menu prices… 😱. Also, Christmas Eve was sooooo frigid cold with nasty winds. Almost no people outside, but the sun was actually shining from a clear blue sky. ☀️

We celebrated “julafton” on Christmas Day on Dec 25, with homemade meatballs, herring, Kalles Kaviar, Janssons, salmon, knäckebröd, red cabbage, sour creme and small sausages. It was really great and later on in the afternoon we opened up our presents and in the evening we played lots of board games, which we did throughout the holiday. 🙂

Really boring was that Vira got sick in the evening and lay in bed the following five days 😦 She caught the flu, but happily she recovered just in time to celebrate NYE. 💯

While Vira stayed in bed, the rest of the gang explored the city from west to east and from north to south. We walked the High Line, and also did our own special walk from Spring Street entering the Williamsburg bridge through the Hasidic neighborhood of Williamsburg, climbing up the Brooklyn bridge down to the City Hall park, taking a left and checked out Pier 17 with the Tin Building and the market.

We also wanted to try some ice skating, in ANY park… We checked out the rinks at Central Park, the Rockefeller Center and the Bryant Park, but all of them were sooo fully booked and apparently the New Yorkers really love to queue! The weather offered a feeling of spring though.

Looks like a icy lake – it is the amazing sky!

We are getting closer to New Year´s Eve, so Johan and I went to Whole Foods for some shellfish, cod and veggies. We found everything we wanted, lobster for starter, scampi to the cod and with Elvira´s luxurious chocolate fondant for dessert! After dinner and a bunch of fun board games, we decided at 11.45 am to go down to our favorite local dive bar, Broom Street Bar. What a Party!

So, the big kids went back to Sweden last Sunday and since then some of us have had some tough times… Schools in New York commenced on Jan 3, basically one week before all Swedish schools do. This is the first year Olle will be in school on his birthday.

We are starting to become friends with our neighbor Andrew (with puppy :-)). He offered his air bed for the holidays, which we really appreciated when Vira got sick! We are soon giving the bed back, together with a good bottle of wine. I would love to walk his little dog Toffee. 🐶 😉

Tomorrow we have a birthday boy, already turning 17. 💗

Posted on 22 December, 2022 in December, Family and Friends

Merry Christmas everyone & Happy Holidays!

Wow, yesterday on Dec 21, we had lived here for five months already and the Winter Solstice also occured both here and back in Sweden! Today is a rainy day and the forecast for tomorrow shows strong gusts and heavy rain, followed by a sharp drop in temperatures and the Real Feel will go as low as -8°F. 🥶🥶🥶 Tomorrow also is one of the worst days to travel, so it will be SO, SO wonderful once Adam, Emma and Tilda arrive tomorrow afternoon in the apartment!

In the last couple of weeks, I have finally got to the gym more frequently again and am feeling well. The kids have however been home with cloggy noses and sore throats, but for the moment we are all on top. Except for Elvira who had a backlash and feels more homesick again. 😔

Last Sunday we had dinner with our friends in East Village. It was all four of us visiting Ilze, Jannie and their youngest daughter Lara. Such a pleasant, fun and experiential evening.

12/12/22 and our 14th wedding anniversity – time flies 💞 Our first dinner one-on-one since we moved here! We had a lovely evening at Quality Eats in West Village!

On Dec 13 – Lucia, I finally received my Social Security Number.👍👍 Actually don´t know if and when I´m going to need it, but anyway it´s a cool thing to have! Johan and I had tickets for the Lucia procession at SACCNY on Thursday night instead of Tuesday. It was a nice event with open bar, snacks and some Swedish lusse-songs.

Last Saturday I walked all the way up to Columbus Circle throughout Hudson River Park and via Rockefeller Center and Bryant Park on my way home. There are lots of buildings, views and attractions to be amazed by in this bustling city.

On the fourth of Advent we all went up to Fabrique for some fika, also the same day Argentina won over France in the World Cup in football in Qatar.

This last week before Christmas, there are some preparations to take care of. For instance I am trying to get hold of some Swedish Christmas food, not the easiest thing. Not that we neeeeed to have it, but somehow cozy!

We have put Christmas cards in the lobby tree for Chris and Nelson. Cards which, by the way, we have bought to support two girls in Elvira´s school for their upcoming European trip in April. 🙂

Elvira showed me another Swedish bakery, a place her Advisor found near school! So from there we now have herring and Annas pepparkakor. 🙂

Last Tuesday we had dinner with Johan´s American colleague Curtis and his adorable wife Jenny. They live in Denver, but Curtis is here in the office from time to time and this time Jenny came along. We tried the Standard Grill, a really cool place with the best burger I have ever had. Jenny, just like Olle (and I) loves Korean movies and series!

Yesterday evening we went to the movies and saw “Puss in boots” at the AMC Theater on 34th street. It was more scary and dark than fun, but with a intriguing story and a thematic statement.

At Little West 12th St in the Meatpacking District

Today I have shopped some Christmas gifts for the youngsters and soon the Holidays are here! I attach a card, originally sent to DanAds from their lawyer. 😂

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Taby goes SoHo

Reality check – relocating Taby, Sweden to Manhattan, the USA

Category: Family and Friends