Lazy Days

Not a whole lot to report.  “Scattered showers”, which always seem to be right where one wants to go.  Yesterday, we had an “at home” day…a little laundry, a little reading, a little nyckelharpa, a little crochet.

Oh, and a “test-baking” of the fabulous Francois Payard Walnut-Chocolate Cookies…totally yummy, and gluten-free into the bargain.  We plan to take some to the Midsummer party next week, but never having made them before…  This is why we needed to find the vanilla essence (closest we can come to vanilla extract here).  They came out pretty good for a first effort, and considering the necessary conversion to metric measures and temperatures.  Learned some things, like that we can make them smaller, and that it would be good to toast the walnuts before we head out on our trip, to save time before Midsummer.  You can find the recipe here:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fudgy-chocolate-walnut-cookies

Today we went to a newly-opened exhibition--Carl Larsson: Friends and Enemies.  The popular painter credited with creating “Swedish Style” in home décor seems to have managed to alienate many of his friends and supporters over the years, including August Strindberg and King Oscar II.  The National Museum, like much of Stockholm, is being renovated, so the exhibit was held at the Art Institute.  There is a downloadable tour available—both a 3-D tour of the rooms and pictures of many of the artworks plus an audio guide:
http://www.nationalmuseum.se/sv/english-startpage/

Then, with some free time, Lars wanted to go to Akademie Bokhandel (“Academy Bookstore”).  Sheila wanted to check out a clothing store, in search of something to wear for the concert after the nyckelharpa course (something she neglected to take into account when packing 5 weeks ago…), so our little party split up.  Lars found several books--Vikings, philosophy, birds—and Sheila had a great excuse to go to Gudrun Sjödén’s, where she did indeed find a nice outfit.  You can see the catalog here:
http://www.gudrunsjoden.com/us/2013_mayextra/category/skirts-dresses

When we got home, Ami and Sheila broke out the nyckelharpas and played for awhile before dinner.  Tomorrow, we head for the Riksspelmansstämma in Österbybruk…a Riksspelman is sort of a “Fiddler of the Realm”…a great honor requiring one to demonstrate a certain amount of facility on one’s chosen instrument and preferably playing tunes from one specific region.  The Spelmansstämma (a combined music festival and jam session) at Österbybruk is this year’s host for this special event.  Österbybruk is the heart of nyckelharpa-country.  Can’t wait!

Sorry, that’s all we’ve got at the moment.