It's another dark, grey snowy day. It's getting to be a bit of a theme around here lately. Where is the usual January weather featuring glorious winter days of blinding sunshine, clear cobalt blue skies, glistening white snow, with the trees looking as though they have all been having a huge skumparty? I'll tell you where - Helen has stolen it and spirited it away across to Trollhätten. Yes, I'm being petty and envious, I know. That pretty weather belongs here on the east coast with ME, dammit!

You Are Snow

Magical yet potentially destructive You are well known as fun to play with People anticipate your arrival but then are quickly sick of you You are best known for: your serenity Your dominant state: reflecting

It still amazes me how different the snow feels depending on the conditions. I was one of those suckers who believed that that Eskimos had many precise words for snow because they were so steeped in it — literally. But it seems we English speakers have even MORE words for it. And I'm still anxious to try snow angels...

Speaking of both snow and lots of words for a concept, while I was flipping through some Swedish sites I came across a link for an article in one of the afternoon papers about the huge numbers of words that Swedes have for the act of shoving snow into a person's face. Sorry, it's only in Swedish, but basically it says that the national radio station's program Språket conducted a survey asking people all over the country to answer the question “What word did you use as a child to mean “rub snow in somebody’s face”?

There were over 6,000 responses, with 95 different words being identified for this well loved childhood sport. Ninety five! That seems rather a lot for such a tiny country, especially as this is not a word that is written down - it's strictly spoken (colloquial) language. It shows how inventive the kids can be - and how widespread this northern version of our noogie or wedgie can be. Lars-Göran said he would use mular - but thinks the whole idea of it is very mean. Not much of the viking spirit in him, then. I wonder if getting a snow facial hurts?

Here in Nynäshamn today, there are plenty of mular opportunities. The water in the civic fountain is still running - just.... though the little bronze frogs surrounding the spout are just snow covered blobs.



And that poor drowned boat from the other day is slowly being consumed by the creeping ice in the harbour. We had stormy weather, with winds and waves sweeping right in here and causing the boat to sink overnight.



Even the ducks have gathered around for the wake. See, Gloria, we have duckies down here as well!



The ice is also packing in around Fiona and it looks very wintery out there. It is still not very thick ice as the snow on top insulates it and stops it hardening. I guess if we could be bothered, we could sail through it still - but honestly the couch is far more inviting than this:



Even though the ice layer is thin, people are still risking going out on it by foot or snow scooter. Last weekend, this ended in tragedy for 5 people, including a whole family who went through the ice in the northern Stockholm arcipelago and died. Their bodies were recovered yesterday - how incredibly sad.

It makes me very glad that I have no spirit of adventure and am more closely related to a sloth with an advanced need for pure comfort and self preservation.