We've had a bit of snow on the ground this week, about 2 inches or so.

Fortunately, it got warm enough today to take most of it off the footpaths. Yesterday, very early, they ploughed our bike paths and walkways, taking off the lovely coarse snow that you can actually get a grip on and instead leaving behind a layer of black ice. It took me about 20 minutes to walk down to the supermarket, normally a five minute trip. I was waddling along like a pregnant woman, just hoping to avoid making butt-pavement contact.

I came back and told Lars-Göran, "That's it, I'm in for the winter", but we had a bit of rain during the night and it is already about 3C here today, so that's improved walking conditions.

So, I hear you all say, why not take the car? Well, it’s not that simple. I sometimes dream of being back in Rose Park where I could jump in my car and drive quickly to the deli at Dulwich or even down The Parade or to Burnside Village. All quite painlessly, without forward planning. Here, a simple trip to the shop a mere 2 minute drive away is akin to attempting an assault in Everest.

I offer you my pictorial essay, entitled ”Going for a Litre of Milk – Swedish Style”. It is in five easy to follow steps:

Step One: Get to the car. Which of course is never parked at your apartment. We have 35 apartments in our block and 12 parking spaces. How does that work? Well, like everything in Sweden, you must queue up for a space, wait patiently for many years and hope enough people sell their apartments so you get to the front of the queue. The rest of us, who are Johhny-come-latelys, get to park in the car park owned by the kommun.



Step Two: Heat up the car keys. I kid you not! The lock will invariably be frozen over, so you will not be able to insert the key in the door to unlock it. I've tried. Just take my word for it. You need to carry either a lighter or carry the key in a plastic bag of warm water. Yeah, right!



Step Three: Try and open the car door. Try being the operative word. Often if it has been damp, then the temperature falls again, the dampness between door and frame freezes over. Brute force is sometimes necessary.



Step Four: Brush loose snow from car. We all keep little brooms of various kinds in the car glove box to help us out with this chore. I have seen people driving along brushing the snow off at the same time but this is not recommended.



Step Five: Scrape off ice. Yes, remember those weird little plastic scraper we used for defrosting those freezers back home? They are an everyday auto item in this country. If you don’t scrape the ice off, visibility, which is already poor because of fog, will be zero.



Now you are set for the trip. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. Bugger the milk, I’ll learn to drink black coffee!

To close, I leave you with my Zen thought for the day:

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.

Till next time!