Tuesday. I think.

[same_sky]

I lost my entry. It was really good, too. Brilliant writing. Probably would have even been linked to by Liz. But alas, something wonky happened with the modem (ahem, husband picked up the phone) and it all went bye-bye. Even though I copied it. Bye bye, wonderful post. Hello, dry and boring post. It is a terrible loss to the internet. (Edited to add: duh, seems as if it posted without so much as a by-your-leave. Now I've been caught lying about the quality of my deleted posts. So sorry, and sorry for the repeated text. Dialup is much too slow to refix everything and pretend that it never happened, so I'll just pretend it's all fixed without actually fixing it. You do that too!)

Or, possibly, I talked about how it was a rather boring entry since we didn't do very much. We didn't have anything planned, so we slept late. Then we ate pizza for lunch, which made the boy smile very big, and went off to finish the Sollentuna shopping rounds. By the way, I guess I could say that what we have purchased so far would be picture frames and four pieces of art, plus a whisk, and four sets of knitting needles. At some point, I'm going to have to figure out how the tax rebate thing works. Anyone know? I've never bothered with it before but it really seems stupid not to. Oh, and we went to M's bank to talk to them about his account and set up internet banking.. I kind of insisted. The boy has lived in the US for almost five years and had never been able to directly access his account. We mentioned it last time we were here, but he never did go do it. He was happy when we left the bank, so I tried to trick him into agreeing that he liked it when I nag, but he didn't fall for it. Shucks.

We left the Kista (say--Sheesta) shopping center sooner than planned.. mainly because I was feeling really crappy. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong with me, but I just don't feel right. I have plenty of things to blame, though.. jetlag, hormones, the leftovers from being sick last week, walking in the rain yesterday. Also, my cough is worse. Very annoying. I was actually hoping that it would clear up once we were here, and instead, it's gotten worse.

M's mom made meatballs and boiled potatoes and stewed carrots for dinner, and now I can finally feel as if I have had a real Swedish meal. ;) Funny how they turned out in little balls, rather than the gooey mess that M made when he attempted it. (yes, love, I will stop teasing you about it someday. Promise.) And then we had ice cream and strawberries.. I nagged M into buying me some Swedish strawberries at ICA today, because he has always said I've never eaten a REAL strawberry. They were very good and sweet, but I will refrain from becoming a strawberry snob. Must limit my neurotic tendencies.

Not sure what the plans are for the rest of the week. I know that there is dinner in town on Thursday, and possibly going out on Friday, but everything else is still open. The sun is supposed to come back, at least, which will make taking pictures more fun. We want to spent at least one day in town, and perhaps more, if it turns out that way. I still haven't found any good postcards. I'll have better luck in Gamla Stan, probably. (Old Town, translated.) Anyway, I need to look up a couple of things and then turn the internet over to M. Being all cozy and warm in bed with a book sounds nice about now.

Comments

[lizardek.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you're really have a great all-around good trip! :) Too bad your posts are so dry and boring.

NOT!

:P

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Yep, everything is going well! If only I could conquer the dry and boring thing... :)

[blue-eyed-girl.livejournal.com]

Your other post did show up, so you must have saved just in the nick of time! :D

Sounds like you're having a good trip, even if you're a bit under the weather. And to think we missed being able to meet up in Stockholm by less than a week!

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Crazy computer didn't show that it was posting! Don't you just hate technology sometimes? And, too bad about the timing!

[paradisecowgirl.livejournal.com]

Your post made it in the nick of time!

Hope you're feeling lots better soon -- sounds like you're having a good time despite feeling a bit under the weather!

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

I'm feeling better again, thankfully. No fun to feel crappy when on vacation!

[gissa.livejournal.com]

Post number one or post number two...kind of like which door do you open to get the best prize. I like all of your entries, anyway. They sometimes have the best postcards at the tourist bureau but don't quote me on that ;) I hope you feel a bit better and find great stuff to see. Maybe the Vasa ship museum or one of the other ones to take tons of pictures at.

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

I found the postcards at one of those little tourist shops in Gamla Stan, and also, at the big church we went into. I'm much too cheap to buy the best ones. ;) But, thank you, and stuff. We've done the Vasa museum when I was here for the summer in 2000.. think we might hit a museum before we leave, though I can't remember what it's called at the moment.

[courtesy.livejournal.com]

I've spent a bit of time in the Sheesta shopping centre, how funny to picture you there :) Hope you feel better!

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Oh, how cool! M was vexed at how very, very different it is than when he used to hang around there. Apparently, it's all been totally changed, though I don't know if it was before or after you were there. It looked really nice, anyway.

[elle-da-belle.livejournal.com]

i think we're all guilty of lying about the quality of the posts we lose. they're always fascinating, and everyone would have loved reading them. *l*

sounds like you're having a good time. :) how long is the sun up for in the north at the moment?

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Umm.. I'm not sure because I'm not awake in the middle of the night. :) I would take a wild guess that it's only truly dark for.. two or three hours in the night. I'm not sure, and M didn't answer me when I asked because he's watching a movie with old cars in it and he is easily distracted. :)

[e11en.livejournal.com]

The tax-free thing. You have to spend enough money to put it into tax-free status and I can't remember if the price is per item or per purchase but I think it's per item (something like 200SEK). The place you're buying it from has to participate in the tax-free program, they usually have that little flag outside the store or a decal on the window. When you buy the thing, you have to ask for the Global Refund Cheque (I usually say, "Can I have it tax-free?") and then you have to show them your passport, they fill in a form, attach the receipt, put a sticker with a control number on it and seal up your package, since you are not supposed to be able to use the stuff until after you leave the country.

In my experience, most shop keepers are not so fussy about the rules and they have basically given me the form with the parts they have to fill out completed, and given me the stickers to put it together later. That way we can show all of G's relatives what we have bought. Before we leave we pack it all up so that it looks like we couldn't have opened the package after leaving the store, stick the stickers on the bag or box to seal it up, and fill in any of the information from my passport that the shop keeper didn't bother with. Then when you get to the airport, before check-in, you find the customs window or export validation or whatever it's called. The people standing there will want to see your packages and the paperwork, then they will stamp the paperwork and you can pack your stuff back up and go check in. (Again, we are alwayd flying from Copenhagen, where they are so laid back that they barely even glance at your stuff, last time he didn't even wait for me to get the bag out of the suitcase before he was handing the paperwork back to me.) Once you are in the shopping area (past security) you find the tax-free refund window and give them that paperwork and they will give you the money in whatever currency you want.

Basically, unless you spent a fair amount of money, the return is pretty minimal and may not be worth the hassles. I have bothered to do it for things like shoes, baby stuff, hemslöjd things that are pricey. This last trip I was pretty disappointed because my cash back on Ingrid's shoes was only like $5 because you don't get the whole 25% back. And if you don't do it when you buy the stuff, it's already too late.

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Ahh! Thanks for the tax-free lesson! We, of course, have not been doing that. We don't usually even have my passport with me. So, I guess it's just as well that we weren't counting on getting 25% back, although it would have been nice. :)