Sweden 2010, Day 3

It is nearly 8AM here in Jörlanda. I got up about 6:15.

I have made a really silly observation: Cows in Sweden don't smell as bad as cows in America. How do I know this? Because I had a close encounter with a few on my walk yesterday. Maybe cows here are happier than cows in California because the grass here is so thick and lush and smells like health in a spiky spongy verdant package. Green stuff in September... what an odd concept to those of us who live in SoCal, where we are currently in "brown season." One thing for sure... whatever their livestock is eating is good, because the meat, milk, and eggs here are delicious!

My pop might remember that day in Snellville GA long ago, when as a young teenager I put in my first day of true hard physical labor, moving huge logs from a cut-down tree to the curb from the backyard. I remember how I felt at the end of that day; incredibly tired, drained, but energized and clear and sporting an incredible sense of accomplishment. Well, that was my day in the studio yesterday. We pounded through three songs... THREE, including a ton of backing vocals. Emotionally challenging, made my heart ache and throb. Tears were shed by myself and "Mr. Black" (as he prefers to be referred to publicly). I felt like I was the one who had been through his life, felt every piece of pain and seen every view of love. People, these songs are going to transform you. Singing them has transformed me. It's refreshing to think only of the emotional content of my performance, trusting that ingrained technique will always enable me to deliver it without thought. It's a time like this where I am thankful for the years i spent studying muic and developing and training my voice.

We had an excursion to Stenungsund to buy vitamins at the pharmacy and a bottle of wine. You know me and my wine... I miss my nectar of the gods if I go more than a few days without it. Here in Sweden, you can only buy very weak beer at the supermarkets. To get strong beer, wine, and liquor, you must go to the state-run alcohol stores called "System Bolaget." The selection is pretty much the same throughout the whole country. They had a few nice wines, including the hard-to-find Omaka Springs Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. I chose a bottle of Saintsbury Pinot Noir. It was priced comparably to the US, which surprised me. Let me tell you, we are spoiled... at home we can shop anywhere anytime for anything, but here, the liquor store is open from 10 to 6 and is closed on Sunday. Plus, there is not a single bottle of decent tequila in this country, though they do know their scotches.

We had chicken with bulgur and panang curry last night for dinner. Yum. My host in an excellent cook. After dinner, we were both way too tired for a movie, so I had a glass of wine, and "MB" and I listened through Jennifer Lindsay's 2009 release entitled "Songs in the Dark." After that, I zonked out. I sleep hard here.

So that's all for today. We are getting an early start because soon it will rain, and we can't have that on our tracks!