Everyone at school picks on the pöpli kids -- even I do

Please, come by the house and relax in my Ektorp, as you bask in the warm light of my Tostarp. And when you get hungry, join me at the Jokkmokk for some dinner.

Mrs. N-B and I have slowly begun outfitting our home with furniture from Ikea. The Swedish chain's Massachusetts location opened last year to great fanfare and police details.

The only way I can explain a trip to Ikea is by comparing it to Disney World. It seems even bigger, though the parking lots are (mercifully) not named after Swedish cartoon characters. ("Honey, remember that we're parked in Oupplouloff!") Such an Ikea idea is not such a stretch, of course, because everything has Swedish names. Like the kids playland (Smalworld).

But the real draw is not the moderately priced assemble-it-yourself furniture. No, it is the delicious Swedish Meatballs. Only $5, and they come with Ligonberry sauce and potatoes. Don't shop hungry.