Waffle Day
Sweden celebrates several foods on specific days of the year--cinnamon buns on October 4, King Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus) cakes on November 4, and saffron buns on December 13 for St. Lucia Day.
While waffles receive their due on March 25, the Benson Swedes now have a new "Waffle Day" of our own. Yesterday would have been my father's 83rd birthday, and in memory of him I made sure to order waffles at IHOP. With four kinds of syrup. And I bet that other family members ate waffles yesterday, too.
Wonderful Photo of Lois
I will miss her very much. This is one of my favorite photos of her.
Good Friday 2017
This was my sister-in-law Lois' last post on Facebook. Twenty-six hours later, she entered paradise.
What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this, Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
Oh, make me thine forever!
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never,
Outlive my love for Thee.
Announcement to the Concordia Community
Lois Stahlke, sister-in-law of Dr. Jonathan Stahlke, was called to her heavenly home unexpectedly on April 15, 2017. Circumstances surrounding her death are still unknown. The funeral will be at Hope Lutheran Church in Austin Texas, on Friday, April 21, at 2:00 pm.
Please remember to keep Jonathan and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
Blessings
A year ago today, my father died. But God has provided blessings and reminders for me today to remember and focus on the good things:
Dad's passing to heaven was peaceful, surrounded by his wife and children.
April 16 is my baptismal anniversary, when I became a child of God.
And today is Easter!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In Memoriam
Ebba Ackerlund, 11, Swedish school girl
Mailys Dereymaeker, 31, Belgian psychologist who worked with immigrants
Chris Bevington, 41, British music industry executive for Sweden's Spotify
name unknown to me, 69, Swedish woman
Iggy, Irish dog given a home by a Swedish family
Tell Them Today That You Love Them
In the Stockholm truck attack last week, four people lost their lives. One of the victims was an 11-year-old deaf girl who did not hear the truck approaching from behind her. The Swedes poured out their grief, especially by laying flowers at the site of the crime. Eventually, the memorials were so overwhelming that the authorities moved them to a large square nearby:
Right before the truck approached, someone was walking their dog down the street. Five years earlier, they had received this rescue dog from a shelter in Dublin, Ireland. His family loved this dog, who they named Iggy, short for Igor. His breed is called a lurcher, which is a cross between a greyhound and a working breed. Lurchers are well-known for their hunting ability and loyalty to their master.
The truck struck and killed Iggy that day. His master survived the attack, but experienced the horror. In the days following, as the flowers grew for the human victims, a Swedish couple started a memorial for Iggy, too. It quickly grew to become a sea of flowers, dog treats, and notes of sympathy. One of the visitors was a woman and her therapy dog, a golden retriever trained to help people who are ill or grieving. The dog sensed that something there was not right, and he reached into his owner's bag to pull out a toy and leave it at the memorial.
Blue Bird Day
After several days of gray, soggy weather in Chicago, the last two days have dawned beautiful. My brother calls these "bluebird" days, with crisp, clean air and a coolness that refreshes. It was on just such a day last April that my father died. We opened the windows to his room that afternoon, and the refreshing, cool breeze wafted through. I wonder if it reminded him of his beloved Colorado mountains, where he wanted to return. He peacefully left us for paradise a little after 4:00 pm, with birds singing and sunlight streaming in the windows. It was beautiful.
Oh, My Aching Back
Due to their unnaturally long bodies, dachsunds are prone to back trouble. It's one part of human's development of dog breeds with which I disagree. But no one asked me. Our dachsund Kentucky has displayed back issues for several years, but as long as we keep him from being too rambuctious, he usually avoids the worst of his symptoms.
Yesterday, however, something happened that no one in our household noticed. But the effects were clear--quietly whining on the couch, and then screaming when David picked him up. Ever since, we've been lifting him up and down steps, onto furniture, and even made him a bed on the floor. Painkillers also help. This morning, I knew he was still feeling bad when he crawled under our bedcovers and squeezed himself between the two calves of my legs. A little extra TLC helps.
I can sympathize since my back also gives me trouble. Back pain can stop you in your tracks. But it's been over a year now since my last attack of sciatica, which previously returned every six months for several years. The credit for this improvement goes to the wonderful chiropractor that has given me excellent care. By avoiding sciatica for twelve months, my nerve has healed about 12 inches. That's been enough to get some feeling back in my foot, cast off my brace, and start playing the organ pedalboard better again.
Spelling Auto-Correct
I just downloaded DuoLingo on my phone, to start learning some Swedish. It's free, a lot of fun, and each daily lesson is less than five minutes long. Also, incredibly, the program is tailored to the learner, and brings back words and concepts that have proven difficult.
Unfortunately, my English-oriented keyboard doesn't include the diacritical marks needed for Swedish, so DuoLingo keeps telling me I'm misspelling the Swedish words. So this morning, to solve this problem, I changed my keyboard to Swedish. Now DuoLingo works well, but several other issues have popped up.
Most of my apps now respond to me in Swedish. Luckily, the terms for weather have cognates in English, French, or German, with which I have familiarity. More problematic is that the keyboard itself is now smaller, due to those extra Swedish letters. My fingers are large (I wear a size 10-1/2 ring), and I keep typing the wrong letters. The auto-correct in Swedish doesn't recognize the English words, and sometimes even changes them to Swedish ones! So now I'm entering lots of English words into the Swedish dictionary, so eventually it will recognize them.
I know it would easier to switch the phone back to English, but in one day I've learned about thirty Swedish words! And it's fun. I'll keep you posted.
