We made a trip out to the overstock store, Överskottsbolaget, this afternoon, and as usual found plenty of things that we didn’t need but just had to have. My best purchase, I think, was a new chew rope for Asbjørn, who simply adores chew ropes. And this wasn’t just any chew rope; it was a giant chew rope, the biggest chew rope I’d ever seen. After this chew rope, no ordinary chew rope will do.

I also bought three dozen tulip bulbs that I hope to talk Olof into helping me plant tomorrow. I know he’ll be resistant, but my ace in the hole is homemade banana bread and I don’t think he has anything that will trump that.

Lydia and Sandra and I have started planning the Big Blow-out Halloween Party that we’re throwing here at our house at the end of the month. We were talking about costumes today and I had a hard time convincing Sandra that it wasn’t strictly necessary for them to dress up as something scary. It seems that most Swedes simply can’t wrap their minds around the fact that American kids dress up as princesses, pirates, and ballerinas every bit as often as they’re ghosts, witches, and mummies. It will be interesting to see how many of the kids we invite will actually show up and more interesting still to see what they decide to wear.