Saturday was not too eventful. However, it was a beautiful sunny day. So, I got out. I needed a mop, so I biked to the mall and picked up a few things at Clas Ohlson and the more unusual things at the large grocery store, or at least things I can’t find in my neighborhood grocery store, like vanilla extract and peanut butter!
Anya was over at a friend’s apartment in the evening. Olivia has a bunch of friends over to play card games. I was at home working on Swedish. My Duolingo online lessons are done minimally toward the end of the week, when I focus on my university course lessons. So, I have lots of reminder lessons to catch up on in Duolingo.
Duolingo is a free online language learning tool that I appreciate for learning vocabulary and some grammar. It doesn’t help me develop my speaking capacity, but it helps build the foundations for speaking.
The neighbors in this student apartment complex had a booming bass on their playlist through at least 11:00 PM, but with earplugs and a tired body, I got to sleep and enjoyed the extra hour of a slow morning before church.
The weather was sunny on a crisp fall day. It seems like the sunny days have more wind though! But I did get out to make the most of the sun, which is very Swedish! I biked up to Gamla Uppsala.
Can you pick out my shadow in this picture below?
This is one of the most important historical sites in Sweden and goes way back to the early viking era. Few other places in all of Scandinavia appear in the early literature as often as Uppsala. Perhaps Anya is a descendant of the Yngling kings!
The lighting was nice on the church.
The church building started in the 11th century, but finished in the 12th century. There were repairs after a fire in 1240, which precipitated the move of the bishop’s seat 5 km (3.1 miles) south west to the “new” cathedral.
I had some “snappy beef barbecue” in the oven, so we had some pulled barbecue beef for dinner. I did have to stop and get some aluminum foil on the way home. We don’t have a roasting pan with a lid.
I’m not much of a cook, so if you need a recipe that is hard to mess up and the leftovers freeze very well, here it is.
Snappy Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
A recipe from Gladys Twedt of Hingham, MT (a farmer family friend from my elementary school days)
1 beef chuck roast (4 lbs.) (trimmed lean)
1 c. ketchup
1 c. barbecue sauce (hickory smoked)
4 c. chopped celery
2 c. water (half this if using a crock pot)
1 c. chopped onion
2 T. vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. chili powder
1 t. garlic powder (I use 3-4 cloves of pressed garlic)
1 t. salt
Rolls or buns (serves 16)
Place beef in Dutch oven (covered roaster). In a bowl, combine all remaining
ingredients (except the rolls!). Pour over beef. Cover and bake at 350
degrees for 5 hours, turning beef occasionally. Shred beef with a fork.
Serve on buns or rolls. (Freezes well—thaw, heat, and serve.)
Beth’s tip: Slice the roast in 2 inch strips for less cooking time, and cook
until it shreds easily. I’ve also done this recipe in a crock pot! It really
does freeze well, so make a big batch while you’re at it. Cook once, eat
twice–or thrice!
With blessings,
Beth