The Lederman Kitchen

Back in the Bay Area, after a few knee surgeries and a recovery that was way too long, I had finally started playing soccer again.  Every Wednesday, a group of co-workers would go out at lunch and play pick-up for about an hour.  It was easily what I looked forward to most during the week. I wasn't too concerned about finding a team or people to kick around a ball with when we moved to Ireland, I mean, we would be living in Europe, you would think that finding a team to play football (soccer to us) with would be easy.  It wasn't.   The problem here is that soccer isn't that big of a sport for girls in Ireland.  Girls tend to play field hockey, hurling and GAA football (the national Irish sports).  And, they don't play co-ed.  I'm typically fine with playing with boys, but here, the boys are not okay with girls on their team. Part of the team, we're never all there at once! Everyone I met over here, I brought up soccer and asked if t...

Brian and I just got back from one of the best weekends we've had in Europe, in Stockholm.  It's hard to say anything bad about it.  We spent our days biking, picnicking, admiring the views and enjoying the sun.  But I'll get to all that later. This was actually my 3rd trip to Sweden.  My first trip was way back in 1996, I was 14 and my soccer team traveled to Europe to play tournaments in Denmark, Sweden and Germany.  In Sweden, we stayed with host families, which were the families of the local team our age.  We were a few hours north of Stoc kholm in  Borlänge. My Swedish Family - Britt, Ida, and Shell Let's just say, I got lucky.  The family I stayed with was the best.  They took me in, showed me around  Borlänge, cooked the most amazing Swedish Pancakes for me (twice!  I liked them that much), let me borrow a bike, and made me feel very welcome.  They even let me eat with them, so I didn't have to eat the cafeteria...

The Euro Cup is in full swing and it's the first time Ireland has made it to a European Championship tournament since their debut in 1988. While their first game against Croatia may have been their best chance for some points, they lost.  And tonight they take on the reigning world and European champions, Spain. Although it would be a huge miracle for the Irish to claim a victory tonight, the buzz and excitement around Dublin is apparent. adidas ad at the bus stop And that's a huge shoe onto of the shelter From flags on cars, to flags on Pubs, to hats, wigs and jerseys, everywhere you look now is spattered with Red, Orange and White to support of the team. Everyone seems to be cautiously optimistic, because in soccer, big upsets do happen. I love that the M&M's are also fan's of Ireland This one is hard to see but the cafe down the street had 2 special soups today, a green and orange one, to support the team We need at least a draw...