I’ve been musing about new year’s resolutions and trying to decide if I want to do something. I really enjoyed the years that I had done a once-a-month resolution (5Ks, art, poetry), but I don’t really have any good ideas. I supposed I could do art every month again, since it’s been a few years. Or maybe I will do write a letter every month this year! That’s a good idea, I think! I might even make it write-at-least-1-letter every month for 2026.
We got home from North Carolina yesterday after a long day of traveling. We got up a little late, and Sarah prepared a fantastic farewell breakfast of roast beef hash, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, plus cinnamon and orange rolls. She and Karin and Danely went for a run/walk and I started the cooking, letting her take over after they got back. It was delicious. After breakfast, we started packing. Sarah is a master packer, and she did my suitcase plus both kids, AND packed their carry-ons as well. We had quite a lot of stuff since all of us had done a lot of shopping during our 10 days in the US including lots of visits to secondhand stores and antique malls. AND there was an entire drawer full of stuff from mom’s move that the kids had picked out last year, mostly ceramics and dishes. They both ended up with an extra HEAVY carry-on duffel bag, even though both of them were actually full of stuff for Martin! All that is left in the drawer are 2 heavy hardback books and a box of giant pinecones for me, plus 2 things for John.
We had another gorgeously sunny day (one of several in a row), and even though it was chilly, we were able to sit outside in sun for several hours. Our plane didn’t leave until nearly 7 pm so we didn’t have to leave until 3:30 to get to the airport. Bryce, who was sick during most of our visit, was feeling better and was able to come sit and chat with us until we had to go. It was hard to leave, especially mom, but made easier by the fact that I’m planning my annual visit and will be going back mid-March. I’m really glad that we went for the holidays, and very glad the kids were able to come with us, even though there were some things that could have been better. Christmas itself was lovely, and our New Year’s Eve, if lame, since we all went to bed pretty early, was still family time.
Bryce had bought a game called Hygge which turned out to be great. It’s just questions about you, family, philosophies, opinions, etc., and it was really fun to sit and ask the questions and hear what everyone thought and how they answered. Even mom could join in, which was great. We played another game called Hues & Cues, which was fun, but harder than expected. Bryce had also brought home Anxiety Card Game, but we ended up passing on it because while funny, it was really rude and inappropriate, and several of us didn’t feel comfortable playing it. We also tried a game called IncoHEARant which was fun (though occasionally also rude).
Our trip home was uneventful, and we were all very glad that it was smooth. The flight to the US had super ugly turbulence which was scary and upsetting. Anders found a website called turbli.com where you can see the forecast for turbulence for your flight; super cool. Very smooth flight to Munich, though none of us slept as it was cramped and uncomfortable. I watched 2 movies and then tried to sleep without much luck. We had a short layover and then a 1.5 hour flight to Copenhagen. Anders, Karin, and I passed out right away, but Martin wasn’t able to sleep much on that flight either. We took the train from the airport to Lund, after saying goodbye to Karin in baggage claim. Martin got off at Malmö C and we continued to Lund, and then took a taxi home, arriving just before 3 pm.
We both crashed right away for about 1.5 hours, then got up and unpacked and put stuff away. Anders went to the grocery store. After we ate dinner, we watched 2 episodes of På Spåret and then I went to bed. Anders stayed up a little longer. We both slept pretty hard and I was able to get right back to sleep after my bathroom visits, and didn’t wake up for real until nearly 9 am. Even though it was also sunny and cold here yesterday when we arrived, it’s full-on winter, and there was snow on the ground, and our neighborhood streets are icy. It snowed quite a bit last night and has been swirling snowing all day.
Today has been full of chores and getting stuff done, while simultaneously taking it easy in between things. Anders cleaned the oven. I’ve done 2 loads of laundry, watered all the plants, and cleaned the toilets. I’ve also done a lot of things on the computer, including registering both myself and the kids to vote (yay!), activating a new AIC member and calling another one (will call him back this evening), updating the AIC website calendar, downloading my 2025 blog entries and starting my blog book, and working on updates that are coming in for the Pangborn family tree and address list. I wrote a very long to-do list last night, but I have a lot of time to get it done, since I’m on vacation next week as well. Tuesday is a holiday and Anders took off both Monday and Tuesday, so he also has a “soft start” to the year. Just what we needed: a vacation after our vacation. 🙂
Mood: relaxed
Music: Anna of the North—Since You
Whew. I sort of lived through your description of the travel back home. Part of me is envious and part, not so much.😂. I’m happy to hear it was a good trip. Good job on cleaning the toilets right away😀
It was mostly a good trip, though there were things about it that were not good at all. Toilets must always be cleaned!