Issue 66: The status of cats & scilla season
+ you are never too old! (inspired by Dagny 🤍)
Welcome to With Love from Sweden, a cozy and light newsletter about all things Swedish.
Hejsan!
March has been so lovely this year! Sunny and mild. Scilla season never disappoints. 💙
Yesterday “normal” March weather suddenly appeared, and it’s been snowing on and off. We changed to daylight saving time last Sunday, so daylight until 8 pm combined with snow feels a bit disorienting!
Swedish Cats of the Week
Does anyone use stamps anymore? It seems like it, because 18.370 cat owners applied for their cats to be featured on stamps! Congratulations to the winners Bengt, Cornelis, Fili, Hera and Valiant:
The cat stamps will be available for purchase from August 25.
Earlier this month riksdagen (the Swedish parliament) voted in favour of an amendment to the law on supervision of dogs and cats, which means that cats will soon have the same status as dogs. From January 1 2023, all cats in Sweden are to be registered and either chipped or tattooed - or the owners could face a fine. Cat shelters and other animal welfare organisations have advocated for this change for many years, to raise the status of the cat. According to the last count, there are approximately 1.159,000 cats in Sweden.
Since 2001, all dogs that live in Sweden need to be marked with an identity number and recorded in the dog register of the Swedish Board of Agriculture. The registered owner is responsible for the welfare and behaviour of the dog, and the same will go for cats. Many dogs were already id marked before 2001 and many cats are already id marked today.
Swedish Blogger of the Week
Last week we were reached by the sad news that 109 year old blogger Dagny had passed away.
But what an inspiration she was! Dagny took a computer course when she was 99 years old, and started blogging when she was 100 years old. Dagny’s blogging made her well-known in Sweden, and a popular guest on many tv and radio shows. If Dagny could start blogging and create a new path for herself after she turned 100 years old, I’m probably not too old to [insert whatever I want to do]! Or at least give it a try.
If you are a Taskmaster fan - you know that task “Impress a mayor”? (I love these kinds of creative tasks!) In the Swedish version of Taskmaster (called “Bäst i test”), the task was to “Impress a 104 year old” and the person was Dagny.
Swedish Song of the Week: The Running Styles of New York by The Tallest Man on Earth
Tallest Man on Earth is finally on tour, grab your tickets while you can! The Running Styles of New York is one of my favourites from his latest album “I love you. It's a fever dream.”, but the whole album is the most beautiful work of art.
One of his most beloved songs is Love Is All from 2010, and it actually has an official video.
I recommend exploring The Tallest Man on Earth’s YouTube channel: from his home he has made many unique and personal recordings that will take you(r mind)… somewhere.
Swedish “Fika”* of the Week
These no bake coconut bars were super easy and delicious. I used this Instagram reel recipe. Next time I might add some lemon or orange to the coconut.
*fika = a relaxing and cozy coffee/tea and pastry/cake break, pronounced “feekah”
Have you been watching the American Song Contest, the music contest based on the Eurovision Song Contest? Its relation to Sweden being that four Swedish guys - executive producers Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman and Ola Melzig - have worked for five years to bring it to the USA. We get it two days later on SVT (Swedish Public Service TV) here, so I have watched the first qualifier and will watch the second qualifier later tonight (probably). I think the hosts Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg are doing a very good job, and I really liked the postcards from each state (especially the cheese one from Wisconsin!). However, I feel like too much emphasis has been put on the visuals and the show, and not enough on the actual original SONGS. After the show I couldn’t remember any of the songs, nothing stuck in my head! I agree with the jury that the Rhode Island representative Hueston with the song Held on Too Long was the best one, and it’s a song I will make sure to listen to again. Of course it’s unfair to compare the ASC to the Eurovision Song Contest with its 65 year old history, but I hope that the ASC will get a few years to find its own identity and grow regionally in the respective states with qualifying contests and so on. The ESC is fun because it’s so camp, colourful, weird, diverse and tongue in cheek, but that kind of vibe takes time to develop. Are you watching the ASC and have an opinion, please share in a comment or just hit reply! And if you are in the US, is there any buzz surrounding the contest? I’d love to hear what you think.
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With love from Sweden 💛
Viktoria
English is not my first language, please excuse my Swenglish.
I am a big Eurovision Fan and America, and have yet to watch the ASC. The general since I have among American Eurovision Fans is confusion mostly? I do love Kelly Clarkson. I am hung up on the disparity as far as fame goes of the various representatives, I would be a lot more interested if Michael Bolton wasn't performing for example. But! I actually know Josh Panda who is representing Vermont through the band the Grift which was founded in Middlebury which is a neighboring town of mine.