A real bonus family

First thing today, I had to pop into Tyresö Centrum for a few last minute bits and pieces ahead of Christmas. I’m making a julbord and, of course, there was also food for the next couple of days. And wine. And beer. All the important things.

So, while Mirinda took the girls for a jaunt around Flaten, I boarded the bus and headed into the shops.

I thought I managed to get everything I needed, chatted to my favourite barista then headed back, my trusty trolley at my side.

The buses are returning to normal with entry now returning to the front of the bus. I say ‘normal’ but it’s not normal for me. Since I’ve started catching the bus, normal has been to enter from the back doors. At least you can say ‘hi’ to the driver now.

Back at the house, I unpacked while Mirinda told me about her walk around the edge of the lake. It sounded great. The puppies thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Then I realised that my shopping trip hadn’t been quite as successful as I thought it had been.

Of course, I completely forgot (again) to buy a set of kitchen scales. The house has a lot of things, even an electric hand mixer and weird toaster thing but there are no kitchen scales. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but Mirinda wanted me to make my world famous shortbread.

I wasn’t sure how well I could guess 175 grams of flour, 110 grams of butter and 50 grams of caster sugar by sight. I realise it’s a major failing to not be able to guess – my mother used to bake by sight alone – but there you go.

As it turned out, the oven did some weird things. I can handle an oven that cooks uneven from one side or the other, but I’m not sure what to do about one that cooks more on the outside and underneath while leaving the middle largely untouched.

Apart from the burnt bits and the crispy bottom, there was a noticeable lack of sugar. I think there was too much butter as well which might explain the crispy bottom. Damned annoying.

While I was slaving pointlessly away in the kitchen, Mirinda went to visit the hairdresser.

We’ve been watching Bonus Family on Netflix. It’s a Swedish programme about a few families that have combined following divorce creating multiple parents for the kids involved. We love it, though some of the characters are really annoying. That, I think, is more the skill of the actors than anything else.

Anyway, Mirinda’s hairdresser said that she loved Bonus Family and was from one herself. She also disclosed that she wasn’t seeing her family for Christmas. Mirinda wondered if this was because of the plague but her hairdresser said it was because they drank too much.

They had a lovely chat while Mirinda had her hair expertly coloured.

Back at home and after a guitar class followed by dinner, Mirinda was then involved in a very long history lesson across the front fence with our landlady’s husband, Anders. She’d only gone outside because the dogs wanted to relieve themselves.

She was outside for ages.

After the first hour, I figured she might need rescuing, so I went out to join them. We then heard all about the 100 years when Sweden ruled Europe. And how the political landscape and Swedish neutrality has formed how the country is today.

It was all really fascinating, and I wondered whether Anders was a history professor. Mind you, we could have done without the rain.