One of the great things about learning Swedish is that when you walk around IKEA, some of the previously strange sounding names for furniture make sense.

Or not.

Today, for example, I noticed items with names such as “lycka” (happiness) and “vänlig” (ordinary/everyday). I bought the ordinary/everyday glasses, by the way, along with a small mirror for my shower, as well as a variety of typical Swedish food. The mirror, by the way was called Vänna which is the name of a town in Sweden.

In fact, the food was the main reason for my journey today. I was hankering after some meatballs which I thought were pretty good the last time I visited. Today, however, they were not as good: a little under-cooked, almost resembling rissoles, with the sauce seemingly watered down and “slopped” on the plate. One bright moment, though, was that I asked for, and got extra lingonberries.

In the food stakes, I bought some frozen köttbullar (meat balls), some lingon sylt (lingonberry sauce), some frozen prinsesstårta (a sponge cake with Chernobyl-like green marzipan covering), kopparberg (pear cidar), lingonsaft (lingonberry soft drink) abd two packets of billar (lollies). So the next time I have a meat ball craving, I’m going to attempt it myself instead of making the treck all the way to Rhodes. Roll on IKEA in Tempe, I say.

The evening ahead holds little excitement except for dinner, washing, and a night in front of the television. It was an ordinary day.