I now live in a parallel universe where the magical world of Harry Potter is alive and well. Every day is full of Quidditch matches in the yard, magical duels in the house, and an unceasing litany of preference questions regarding every last detail of the fictional world created by J.K. Rowling. Last January, as the pollution levels rose higher and higher, Momma S and … Continue reading The Year of Potter
During a celebratory dinner last night for the successful conclusion of a conference I was working on, it came up that I used to SCUBA dive. While I would prefer not to use the verb phrase “used to”, the last time I went SCUBA diving was when I visited Belize in 2003. It is really hard to say that I still dive when it has … Continue reading Love Vanquishes SCUBA
“How many Easter Bunnies are there? Is it the same Easter Bunny here as there is in Sweden?” These were the two questions that greeted me this morning as soon as K woke in our hotel in Skagen, Denmark. Now, these questions should not have been too terrible to field if it wasn’t for the recent conversation between my wife and I regarding the Easter … Continue reading A Bunny Conundrum
This is the long awaited sequel to European Family Vacation Pt 1: Bavarian Alps. We are out of the highlands and down in the lower Bavarian farm land. Our center of operations was the delightfully medieval town of Dinkelsbuhl. And this was a great place to base ourselves out of!! The town seems to come directly out of an old medieval story; its the type … Continue reading Family European Vacation Pt 2: Dinkelsbuhl and Environs
Blink. It is gone. As the summer begins to set, memories of its rise fade away. As I scan back to late June, K excited about going to castles in Germany, M only concerned with playing with his older brother’s toys, and momma S returning from a work trip to Berlin just to pack again for our family vacation; I know that my account here … Continue reading Family European Vacation Pt 1: Bavarian Alps
It’s the Chinese New Year, which happens to be the only New Year celebration my oldest son K acknowledges. While we have never lived in China, K has embraced this tradition as his own. It probably has something to do with the fact that “dragons” come out and celebrate the changing of the year. Though my son swears it’s a dragon, the creature he is … Continue reading Happy Year of the Snake
Christmas Eve found this family still in Almhult, Sweden…alone with no family or friends over, but very merry still. This was K’s fourth Christmas and M’s second. Since K has been around, family has become more of a focus for us. One of the joys, and challenges, of living abroad is being away from family. Before we had kids, this did not bother us too … Continue reading Twas a Merry Christmas (God Jul) Indeed
Bringing light into the dark of winter: Saint Lucia Day in Sweden. Yesterday was the celebration of St. Lucia Day. Being a Hemmapappa, I had no exposure to how this holiday was celebrated, though K had a huge feast at school and a visit from the St. Lucia representative. The above link takes you to another blog, Fika after Fifity, that has a very nice … Continue reading Bringing light into the dark of winter: Saint Lucia Day in Sweden
We were coming home from an awesome walk/sled-ride through the forest, which had ended with some exciting sledding for K. Upon entering the apartment complex, the sweet old lady from the first floor came out and started chatting up K, of which none of us could understand as it was in Swedish. But, K doesn’t need Swedish when he sees someone holding out a toy … Continue reading Christmas in a Cave
For those of you that read “The Abyss of Holiday Cheer”, you are aware that our last foray to a Christmas market was not something out of a Bing Crosby movie. Well, we put that experience behind us, jumped in the car, and drove the 2.5-hour journey to Kalmar Castle, which was hosting another traditional Swedish Christmas market. This time, K was totally into the … Continue reading Christmas in a Castle
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