Lego fun!

Lego model 8205

Lego is fun!

Sometimes as a parent you´ll get annoyed with all the little pieces lying around, but fact is that a Lego session can chase away both thoughts of work on a Sunday morning and breakfast hunger.

I did these cars with my boys this morning, and we have raced them too. They work fine after some adjustments. And the sound when rummaging for Lego in a plastic box is still the same as when I was a kid. Some things don´t change. :-)

So, an advice for annoyed parents; Get down and play instead!

Fear-inducing advice forcing people away from outside

• Keep windows and doors closed as much as possible to prevent pollen from blowing into your home and car.
• Avoid going outside between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., when pollen counts are highest.
• Don't hang dry your clothing outside, as pollen can be transferred to your clothes and into your home that way.
• Shower and wash your hair before bed so you don't spend the night covered in allergens.
• Exercise indoors during the pollen season.
• Wear a paper mask while gardening to protect yourself from flower and weed pollens. 

This was sent to me in an e-mail today from a website specializing in healthy living.  The e-mail was about seasonal allergies and these were the only practical advice they gave.  Based on this, if you suffer from hayfever and asthma you should never go outside, just stay inside and don't get any fresh air, and definitely not in the mornings. No wonder there are kids who never go outside with this kind of fear-mongering.  It is like pollen are EVIL things.  If you are seriously allergic I understand the issue, but this was sent as a general information e-mail to anybody with even slight allergies.  "Wear a paper mask while gardening", don't save energy and don't help the world become more sustainable by avoid using the dryer in the summer for the laundry... and run the air conditioning all the time inside your house or car with the windows closed...  I e-mailed them and wondered why they gave such unhealthy, energy-gouging and unsustainable advice to everybody.  A Culture of Fear, indeed.... 

A linguistic note as well - pollen is pollen in plural, not pollens, and flowers can be weeds and vice versa, but I think that is too botanical for the unnatural e-mail writer from Sparkpeople.com. The information on their website is a bit more toned down, but still fear-inducing.  I can just see millions of moms keeping their kids inside for fear of pollen, possibly in an air environment that is even worse for other reasons.

Now just remember, there are evil things out there.... animals and flowers and fresh air and such.

Stamp of the day: Pippi Long Stocking and ginger bread cookies

Pippi and her monkey Herr Nilsson are making ginger bread cookies on the kitchen floor.
A typical non-stereotypic behavior of Pippi!

Christmas stamp from Sweden.

Google celebrates Pippi Långstrump (Long Stocking) on her 65th birthday

Today is Pippi Långstrumps (Pippi Long Stocking) birthday, it´s been 65 years since the first book was published in Sweden. Google is celebrating by showing her on the logo in some countries, not US, but in Sweden. Read more here in swedish.

Winter is fun and beautiful!

Vintergatan by Jenny Nyström

Finally, it´s snow on the ground! No more mud or wet soggy shoes, it´s white pristine snow and all the kids love it. We have now 5 cm of snow and some more will come today.

DH has asked for winter since midsummer! Now it´s finally here and Christmas eve is just 30 days away. Have fun!