Luckily Gordon was in California the week before so I was able shop and do some party prep. European refrigerators being on the small side, I turned the laundry room into a walk-in refrigerator by turning off the radiators, opening the windows and keeping the inside door closed. It worked really well!
I did more driving in the days leading up to Gordon's birthday than I have in the past 6 months. Thank goodness for Google maps! Grocery, party rental and a trip to the airport for the last important errand... picking up our surprise guests!
Lynda and Jer arrived around 12:30 on Saturday, February 1, and surprised Gabby and Sofia by ringing the doorbell. Audra was surprised when they showed up to pick her up from a birthday party. Gordon didn't walk in the door from California until 5pm. We all had bets as to whether he would notice Lynda and Jer playing cards in the living room.
We had traditional Swedish meatballs and potatoes au gratin for dinner and played 'heads ups'.... an iphone app that is like charades. One person holds the phone up to their forehead where the other players can read the clue that they have to act out. If it's right, tilt the phone down and it goes to the next clue or to pass, tilt the phone up for the next clue. Jer had the best observation of the game, adults bend at the waist to change the clue, kids just tilt the phone. Lynda and Jer should be very flattered... we hadn't seen that much of Gabby since we got here!
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| Audra assembling the au gratin |
Gordon's birthday morning was lazy with more talking, coffee, pastries from the bakery and breakfast from the Flying Biscuit cookbook. We eventually left the house for lunch at Rice and some ice skating at Kungstradgarden. Then it was time for some feverish party prep!
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| the artwork Audra made out of licorice |
The girls stayed at friends houses for the night. Jer, Lynda and I made dips, baked salmon and put together platters of food. Thankfully, some friends also contributed appetizers and baked some wonderful food. A few more friends arrived early to help with the last minute touches.
Around 40 Stockholm International School friends sang both 'Happy Birthday' in English and Sweden's birthday song 'Ja, må han leva' (Yes, may he live) to help Gordon celebrate his big day. Yes, Gordon had a traditional princess (prince in this case) torte but also an unbelievably yummy passion fruit torte from the restaurant Coco and Carmen. Our landlady, Anna and her boyfriend/partner/sambo*, Mats also joined us for a while. As it turns out, Mats was quite the talk of the party with a group of friends who thought he looked like Joe Biden. Craig Clapper was just excited to have met a real-life maestro (Mats is a conductor with the Swedish Royal Orchestra)!
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| Nancy and Lynda with Claudette and Craig Clapper |
Gordon, Lynda, Jer and I (napping more than anything) watched the first half and half time of the Super Bowl then, finally, called it a night.
A rhythm had been set for the weekend so when Monday arrived we didn't get out of the house until 1pm. We gave Lynda and Jer a glance of Sodermalm by having lunch at the Urban Deli then headed to Gamla Stan for 30 minutes of power-souvenir shopping before heading towards SIS to meet up with Gabby and her friend, Annabel for fika.
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| waiting for the bus |
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| Urban Deli |
So happy Gordon's birthday gave Lynda and Jer a reason to make this crazy, weekend trip to Stockholm. We all picked up just where we left off and it felt wonderful! Thank goodness the weekend is over... we were exhausted!! xoxoxo
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