Eve

Today is Midsommar Eve.  The grocery and liquor stores are slowly being emptied by the inhabitants of Gotland, strawberries are in high demand, and wildflower blooms are in full force. 

I started off the morning with a little bit of a rehab session.  My left quad is feeling a little strained from shooting practice, but I have my bio-freeze, a foam roller, my quad sleeve, and lot of experience nursing little knocks like this.  Some good stretching and I'll be ready for Sunday :) 

In anticipation of the shopping we needed to do for Midsommar, Vendela, Vanessa, Anja, and I headed into the city.  The first stop was lunch at a beautiful little spot called Rosengården (The Rose Garden) right at the base of S:ta Karins Ruin.  Outside is the place to sit at this time of year, so we found a table under a big umbrella canopy and settled in. 

Rosengården

At the base of S:ta Karins

I tried another traditional Swedish dish called Köttfärslimpa (meat loaf) served with potatismos, lingon, and ättiksgurka (pickles).  It was delicious. 

Köttfarslimpa

After lunch it was time to head to Systembolaget - the only place to buy alcohol in Sweden.  This alcohol monopoly was started in the 1800s to minimize alcohol related problems by selling it responsibly and without profit motive.  This system works very well for Sweden, and confuses me some.  Other than in restaurants, this is literally the only place you can buy alcohol as a customer.  Fascinating.  

It was busy in there and lots of the shelves were much lighter than I think they normally are.  It isn't open tomorrow (Midsommar is a national holiday), so everyone was in town today to get everything they could need. 

The grocery store was no different, and our list was long.

We also wandered into H&M and I found a sweet little white summer dress (the traditional Midsommar outfit) to wear with the flower crowns that we will make tomorrow afternoon.

Practice was and hour and a half earlier than usual and was light.  We discussed the game this coming Sunday after while eating ice cream (because Midsommar).  It's an important game - they are the 2nd team in our league and we are the fourth.  A win would be huge.  Ice cream anyway. It's Midsommar.   

Then it was time to head home, clean up around the house, make dinner, and start on the food for tomorrow.  Vendela and I are in charge of the strawberry cake (one of the staples), and vacuuming the main floor.  We'll finished the topping for the cake tomorrow.  

One of the cousins is in town for Midsommar, so she joined us for dinner, and after we watched the new(er) Steve Jobs movie.  It was very well done.  His is such an interesting story.  Now bed time to rest up for a long day tomorrow.  I fully expect that we will watch the sun rise on Saturday.  

Bra Midsommar!