Svarta Sara has started laying again. Celebration time! #selfsufficiency #paulssonpaleo

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Ray the Rogue Rooster and Other Hen Business

An update on the henhouse is long overdue, so here it goes.

Our rooster Ray is still alive and kicking. Why? Because apparently some guys need to be chased with an axe to shape up. Cat and I are obviously completely inept at killing roosters, so he was given another day to live before we wanted to try again. (Hint to all potential rooster butchers out there: don't try to chase down a bird in broad day light. It will not work and just make you look like an ass. Rightfully so.)

Anyhow, after our failed attempt, Ray got his act together and started showing some of that rather aggressive rooster love for the ladies again. After a month he is even starting to show the ladies where the food is at, so there is hope.

Ray looking a bit more cocky than a month ago

All is well on the hen front. It looks like the ladies have managed to grow the little flock after all, despite our (read: Cecilia's) rather heavy-handed love... Four surviving chicks are perhaps not the greatest track record, but we're happy to see that they've at least made it past the teeny weeny tiny chick stage (I'm sure there is a technical term for that, but you know what I mean, right?).

Who knew that little chicks could die in so many ways? Let me count the ways. Actually, I'll tell you in person next time you come visit, promise. Not for the faint-hearted!

A month and a half old and quite fearless

Now that the worst broody stage is over for the hens, we are finally starting to collect some fresh eggs again. About time! Given the poor survival rate of the chicks and the lack of eggs, I did start questioning what the heck we were doing...

Watch this space for more animal updates soon. It feels like we're starting a petting zoo.

Vita Vera staring me down

Daily Commute

I have been commuting into Halmstad, (the nearest city to us…Sweden’s 20th largest city by population) for a month now to attend SFI classes. That is, Swedish language classes for immigrants. The commute is about 20km each way, which makes it a perfect leg stretcher on the bike and also a prime opportunity for me to see how good cycling in Sweden is.

During my first week, I cycled on the main road leading from Simlångsdalen to Halmstad (E25), this does not have a separate cycle path, but does have amazingly smooth tarmac and is joyously pot-hole free! So, for the first week I whizzed along with the occasional car and lorry passing me, thinking how could this get any better.

It was during the second week that I hit gold! There is a an old railway track that used to connect Halmstad to Bolmen with a station stop in Simlångsdalen. This ceased to operate in 1966 and conveniently was turned in a cycle path and pedestrian walkway. So, I tried this alternative route and for over 15km the only other living souls I encountered were 9 cows chewing the early morning cud! Bliss! Being an old railway track also means that there are no sharp gradients, it runs pretty straight and because in Sweden, pot-hole free. Needless to say, I haven’t looked back.

But, there is a tiny problem. Halmstad is in the process of upgrading this sublime cycle path, so a 3km section is closed! At this point one has to return to the main road (E25) and then jump back on the cycle path closer to Halmstad. This work is due to finish in April 2016, so for now I make do with sharing the smooth tarmac with a car or two for 3km!

Once in Halmstad, cycling is easy too, as you follow the network of cycle paths and when you have to cross over a road, cars must give way to you…perfect! It is a huge contrast to cycling around central London, but then the population of Halmstad is one-third of the population of the Borough of Islington, our old cycling haunt, so I guess the comparison isn’t completely fair. But, as everyone says, the Scandis have cycling cracked!

You can see my route on my strava feed, here.

New trousers for lil T. I made them out of old flour sacks from the Philippines. #reuse #recycle #selfsufficiency #paulssonpaleo

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The chateau allowed for a bit more floor space. :-) #moveyourdna #sleepingonthefloorinfancyplaces #paulssonpaleo

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And while my family is slaving away in the fields back home, I am practicing my poolside squat with Tom #paulssonpaleo #functionaltraining #basquingintheshade

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Big grass sausage being hoisted into loft! #grass #selfsufficient #paulssonpaleo #blog #movetoSWE

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Cousin It look-a-like! #collectinggrass #fruitsofourlabour #movetoSWE #paulssonpaleo #blog #selfsufficient

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Today is all about raking and drying grass in the sun! #blog #paulssonpaleo #selfsufficient #grass #rakinggrass #collectinggrass

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Hello little beautiful blueberries growing in our drive. Not many yet, but I'll be back in a couple of days. #selfsufficiency #nature #lovesweden #paulssonpaleo

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Today has been all about scything, scything and even more scything...#preppingfieldforsheep #movetoSWE #selfsufficient #paulssonpaleo #blog

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Hallway was my bed for two nights. Duvet served as both mattress and blanket. #floorsleeperproblems #moveyourdna #paulssonpaleo

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Tonight's running race started in the lake! Awesome race including lots of water, mud and tree jumping. Came in 3rd, with a bonus swim afterwards. #blog #SIF #movetoSWE #trailrunning

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And another one from our hike. Gorgeous day and great company! 😘 #paulssonpaleo

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Hike this morning. #paulssonpaleo

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Busy planning the events for our first guests on Monday #blog #paulssonpaleo #cavemangames #paleofika #movetoSWE

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Last night's catch from the cabbage patch. They're called åkersniglar and are big as boogers. #yuck #selfsufficiency #paulssonpaleo

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Doing the Little Adder (Yoga in the Commune)

I have been practising yoga on and off for around eight years; to begin with in a gym with loud, thumping music next door, then in the serenity and insense smoke of Triyoga in Primrose Hill and now mostly at home in Kannesten. Yoga is something that clears my mind makes me feel great.

Lately, I have convinced the rest of the family to join in. Some take a bit more convincing than others (cough, cough, pappa), but once in a while we move furniture out of the way and I lead the gang in breathing and stretching. And giggles when I try to explain downward-facing dog and pappa renames the cobra pose "lilla huggorm" (little adder).

Not sure this little fella would approve of the cobra pose!

I must admit that I find it a bit tricky to lead yoga suitable for all abilities. Initially, I mainly used ashtanga sequences, but I soon saw that it didn't work too well, so now I am including some kundalini and hatha yoga in the practise. Needless to say, I have lots more to learn. At least I have a good group to practise on.

Setting up the mats for tonight's yoga session. #paulssonpaleo

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Detail from the poster advertising our hikes and trail runs, in participation with the local hotel Tallhöjden. Read more on our website. #paulssonpaleo

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Scrambled eggs and bacon made out o beef tongue. Remarkably good! #paleo #paulssonpaleo

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Improvised headgear for scything during gnat season. #paulssonpaleo

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Watching the most gorgeous ram yet getting a haircut and a pedicure. #paulssonpaleo

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Time for indoor work. The gnats are killing me! #selfsufficiency #paulssonpaleo

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These fellas make me laugh! #happysheep #Gutefår #selfsufficient #paulssonpaleo #paleoretreat #movetoSWE #blog

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Preparing for PaulssonPaleo's first company presentation. Giddy! :-) #paulssonpaleo #primal #paleo

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Trying Out New Types of Yoga

Enter through this back door on a back street in Halmstad on an early summer's morning to achieve peace and calm. Cecilia and I can highly recommend Kundalini Yoga with Gilla. So relaxing, but still strenuous. Read more about the studio here: Yogastudion Halmstad.

Heart in a Jar

In preparation for more caveman coffee breaks, we're working on perfecting the beef heart jerky recipe (the paleo balls need no improving, they're a bit too perfect, in fact, nom nom nom).

The result of last night's experiment turned out really well, I am happy to report.

No, these are not turds in a jar.

For a jar of crispy-chewy jerky, I used the following:

450 g beef heart from a grassfed cow (Rödkulla from Lindegrens to be precise, name of cow unknown, however)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons applecider vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 thumb of ginger, finely chopped
Black pepper to taste

Day 1

• Trim the heart (be sure to remove all fat, especially) and cut into big chunks that will allow you to cut very thin slices. 
• Freeze for an hour.
• Cut thin slices with a very sharp knife (or with one of those electrical thingies that slice veeeery thinly).
• Put the slices in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Stir occasionally.

Day 2

• "Hang" the slices on a wire rack and place in the oven at 65 degrees. Keep the oven door slightly ajar with a wooden spoon or similar. 
• When the pieces start to shrink and dry up (usually around 2 hours depending on thickness), dislodge them from the rack and put them on a normal baking tray, occasionally stirring them to make sure they dry evenly. 
• Really thinly sliced jerky should be dry enough at the 3 hour mark, but depending on how thickly you sliced them, it can take longer. Aim for chewy rather than completely crisp. 
• Store in an airtight container, preferrably in a dark place. The fridge is NOT the right place, as the meat will attract moisture. 

Enjoy!

Practicing my resting squat while reading about movement. #paulssonpaleo #primal #paleo #squat #moveyourdna

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Suspected Lyme disease/ borrelia. Plenty of homemade pre- and probiotics to go with the antibiotics for the next three weeks. #paulssonpaleo

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When you're prepared to just have black coffee and your aunt @knollotott whips out the Paleo bread. #paulssonpaleo #paleo #primal

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Eating Clean - An Ode to Our German Friends

We had two visitors from Germany this weekend, lovely Christina and Werner. It was a surprise visit for mamma's birthday and she was immensely pleased to say the least!

They were of course curious about the way we eat. Perhaps because both mamma and pappa are down to the same weight as in their twenties? 

Our standard blurb on our eating habits usually go something like: "Mostly meat/ fish/ eggs and vegetables. And butter."

I can't vouch for the flowers being edible. The heart mince burgers were awesome, though. 

Their reaction was slightly different to what I am used to. You see, they actually eat just like we do, except for the potatoes, bread and beer. They weren't the least bit fazed by our meals. It was just food. 

And I guess that is the problem with our current food culture. Many of us have forgotten what real food is and rely on processed products to nourish us. We don't need to look far to see the devastating effects this has had on us: obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease are so common that we simply accept them as a part of our lives. 

Perhaps some cultures are a bit more protected from this than others. When most Swedes jumped on the ultra-processed low fat/ high sugar bandwagon of the 80s and 90s, our German friends (and probably most of continental Europe) stuck to their butter, full fat cheese and charcuteries. 

I'm not saying there aren't any overweight people in Germany, mind you. Just that the leap to healthier eating habits may be a bit shorter for some our European brothers and sisters. 

Friday afternoon soak at our favourite bathing spot #wildswimming #halmstad #movetoSWE #paulssonpaleo #paleoretreat #blog

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Welcome to Simlångsdalen. So pretty it hurts. #paulssonpaleo

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The trapeze didn't make it through the workout. #paulssonpaleo #wod

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Birthday Week

I turned 40 last week (cue: "oh my gawd, you don't look a year older than 39!"). 

As I have thankfully already ticked "major life crisis leading to drastic lifestyle change" off my to do list, I figured I have cause for celebration. For at least a few weeks. If not for the rest of my 41st year. Or the next decade or so? Let's not be stingy here. And all I want for my birthday decade is to welcome as many of my friends as possible to our new place. 

London lovelies Liz & Laurence hopped on a plane to start off the celebrations in Copenhagen. 

Pre-dinner welfie: please note the very paleo pork scratching in the front

I am lucky to have extremely thoughtful friends, who went out of their way to book the meatiest restaurant around (Nose2Tail), with OFFAL on the menu. Except they called it innards. Cute. 

We rolled out of there. And went straight to bed, funnily enough. That is what middle age does to you.  

Lamb leg to the left, lamb liver to the right

The rest of the weekend was spent at PaulssonPaleo HQ, working off all that Danish meat (organic, mind you!). L & L were really excited to pitch in, so we went straight to work:

L & L finishing off the sixth vegetable bed at lightning speed

A spot of barefoot stream clearing to keep your core strong

Our new rustic side table for the bbq spot!

We fed our guests a bit too, promise

I just hope we didn't break them... We may have to work on the "reigning in" of ambitious city folks. 

Show off! #Gutefår #newboss #blog #paulssonpaleo #movetoSWE #selfsufficient

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Liz n Laurence doing their best to outdo all previous diggers. I'm in awe. #paulssonpaleo #selfsufficiency #nutters

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Welcome Sheep

On Monday, we welcomed our first four-legged guests to Kannesten. A friendly neighbour is lending us seven rams for a few weeks in order to eat some of our now very plentiful grass. We are treating it as 'try before you buy' and we were all smitten as soon as they moved in. It is a great feeling seeing the sheep munch in our field. It is as if they simply belong there and the field didn't have a purpose before they arrived. Very deep, I know.

We are now more convinced than ever before that we need some sheep for our land. There are so many benefits:

1. They eat the grass and shrubs in the field. As a result we don't need to spend hours with the scythe. There are more than enough areas where we can do our core exercises with the scythe.
2. They poop, i.e. they fertilise the fields. We may even collect some to feed our vegetables, which feed us. I love the biodynamic thing!
3. They make you happy by just looking at them. Hours can be spent watching them graze.
4. They have lambs, which are even cuter.
5. Their meat is tasty. 
6. The wool is beautiful.

I can't wait until we have some of our own! Meanwhile, I will enjoy looking at the seven handsome rams.

Actually, I got a total of 104 kg. ❤️ #paulssonpaleo #kettlebellcollection

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New guests tucking into our grass! #movetoSWE #selfsufficient #paulssonpaleo #paleoretreat #blog

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Scything Queen! #paulssonpaleo #movetoSWE #selfsufficient #blog #getstronger

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