It's back to the snow again today. For a couple of days we have had temperatures in the plus degrees, sunshine and blue skies. I heard people foolishly predicting that spring was here and rushing out to buy their pots of påskliljor. Hey, I could even go for a walk sans hat and gloves.

However, this is my fourth winter here and I know that it can (and often does) snow until the end of April, so I figured that mother nature was playing a cruel trick and just daring us to pack away those winter clothes, only to hit us with those polar winds again. And I was right!

And speaking of polar......

Now this isn't a sight you expect to see every day in your local supermarket, is it? Especially in Sweden where they are paranoid about making everything allergy safe. There are huge signs everywhere outside of this shop about not bringing in animals, not smoking, not wearing strong perfume etc and here they have an actual stuffed reindeer!

Yes, that's me dressed in my usual winter outfit, though carrying hat and gloves as it is too hot inside to keep them on. As you can see, Rudolf and I are having a bit of a chat, though as he's from Norrland, he isn't saying much :)

So why is he gracing our presence in Konsum, Nynäshamn, many many kilometers away from his habitat? At first I thought it was for some sick, perverted display of reindeer meat, as the sign behind me (Kött & Fläsk) is Swedish for Meat and Pork (funny, I thought pork WAS meat!). But no, it wasn't the Swedes being correct and literal as I had expected, but in fact it is a promotion for Polarbröd. And you can indeed see a pile of the bread nearby.

Yes, I bought 2 packets. Am I a marketer's dream or what?

And on the subject of breads, it is a wonderful time in Sweden, as it is semlor time! Yum, yum, yum! So who or what are semlor? Well, they are just the very best, most delicious bun you have ever eaten! Think kitchener bun, flavoured with cardamon and instead of raspberry jam and that fake cream stuff, they have a filling of almond paste topped with lashings of real, fresh whipped cream.

I'm helplessly addicted, so thank goodness they are only available during this time of the year. Traditionally they are supposed to be eaten on what we know as Shrove Tuesday (February 24th this year) and was a way to use up all of the eggs, cream and goodies before lent.

Of course, some of us are married to the old-fashioned types, who will tell you that semlor should ONLY be served on that day AND served in a bowl with warm milk (no way!), but we smart Aussies have realised that they taste just as good the 1st of January as they do in February, PLUS you can eat more of them in 6-8 weeks than in just a few days before Lent.

Semlor are taken very seriously here and every year, Aftonbladet tests them out to find the very best ones in town. And there are entire websites devoted to Semlor Guides.

Lars-Göran went out in the snow today to pick up some as I could hear them calling me. Needless to say, they looked absolutely wonderful and I could read the warning label that ought to have come with it: one thousand calories. Clog your veins. Have you thought about your cholesterol level?

I took a piece anyway. It's a treat that I almost never allow myself. So it's bad for me. It's just too good to worry about minor details like that.