Tagged: holidaze

21
Jun
2025

SOLSTICE RUMINATIONS

Happy summer solstice! Glad midsommar! What a difference a couple of weeks, good medical care, a definite diagnosis, and wonder drugs makes. I’m still easily tired, which isn’t surprising considering I’ve been so housebound and sedentary. I hope to start walking again soon. We’ve had a full week of the most beautiful weather: sunny, blue skies, a little breeze, perfect temperatures, cool evenings. If the whole summer was like this, I’d be perfectly happy. Yesterday was midsummer in Sweden, a day off, and one of the biggest holidays of the year. I was up early as has been the case...

18
May
2025

SHOWING OFF SWEDEN

So much for my good intentions of posting more in May. I managed 3 posts, then real life intervened. But in a mostly good way! My best friend from college, Julie, and her family: husband Todd (Benny), daughter Erin and son Drew, finally made it to Sweden to visit! I picked them up at the airport on Saturday, May 10, at 4:30 and we crammed all their bags into the Tesla and came over to Sweden. We managed to keep them up and got them on schedule right away, which I think was helpful for them. Anders cooked a delicious...

26
Apr
2025

TRIP TO OREGON, JULY 1992

(When reading this, remember this is long before cell phones, Apple Pay, and baggage weight restrictions) I’m back from my first real vacation in years, 10 whole days. I had a wonderful time in Oregon visiting my best friend Becky and her husband Doug, and squashing my maternal urges with their two beautiful children: Christopher (3) and Sara (2). Lots of hanging out with kids, shopping, movies, the Oregon County Fair (quite a treat), and going to hear great live music. But the best story is about my arrival and departure from hell! I swear that everything you are about...

01
Jan
2025

SLOW START

Yesterday’s New Year’s Eve party at Mats and Annlotte’s was really nice, even though I was slightly dreading it, because it was a lot of people, and we had to dress up. I was also not looking forward to driving home super late, but as it turned out, we were 10 people, and I already knew 8 of them. The dressing up was not too onerous. Anders bought a new blazer on Monday, and I wore a black tunic dress with white embroidery over leggings and the white flower necklace that I bought ages ago to go with it. Comfortable...

30
Dec
2024

RETROSPECTIVE

nd of the year retrospectives are fun to do. I’ve been writing them since 2008. I guess they appeal to the listmaker in me, and the OCD-me as well, because now that’s it been a tradition for 16 years, I can hardly stop now, can I? 2024 was a good year in many ways, judging by the family Xmas letter that I wrote and posted last week. Lots of travel for all of us, and I DID make it to Ireland, after dithering for a very long time between it and the south of France for my birthday trip. Karin...

26
Dec
2024

THE THREE RE’S: REST, RELAX, RECHARGE

It’s the day after Christmas. Boxing Day in the Commonwealth. Annandag Jul in Sweden. It’s a holiday here, too, though lots of stores are open. We had a lovely Christmas. The kids were both home for Christmas Eve. We watched Kalle Anke (which is obligatory in Sweden) at 3 pm with glögg and cookies, then opened one present from under the tree. Then we had julbord, which Anders fixed most of. All the trimmings: 3 kinds of herring, cold smoked and warmed smoked salmon, homemade hovmästarsås, romsås, brunkål, rödkål, and creamed kale (from our garden!), smoked sausage, liver paté with...

22
Dec
2024

EK FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER 2024

We still had Liz’s mom and Danely here until January 4 so 2024 started out nicely with family in the house. Karin, however, was still in Austria finishing up her second ski guide season. Anders went skiing up north at the end of January with his best friend Mats. Anders has had a lot of travel this year with work, with multiple weeks away in Kumla, Tingsryd, Italy, Norway, Germany, and Finland, among others. Good thing he loves his job! It’s been a busy year, for sure, with lots of travel, and lots of moving. Martin moved in with Theo...

06
Dec
2024

TIS THE SEASON TO STRESS OUT

I’m tired and stressed and worried about certain things, but at least I’m feeling pretty ready for Christmas and MORE than ready for vacation, which is coming soon. Two more weeks of work and then I’m off for nearly 3 weeks and I can’t wait. I’m sure it will get filled up with things to do but I plan to spend quite a lot of it with my feet up. I’m avoiding sugar for real now, though it might be too late, and it’s been really really hard. For most of this week it was ALL I THOUGHT ABOUT. Yesterday...

30
Nov
2024

BUNNY BUNNY BUNNY

Just like you are supposed to say “rabbit rabbit rabbit” on the first day of the month, I feel like there should be something you say on the LAST day of the month. Like everyone else, I’m a bit boggled that it’s already the end of November. Maybe I should say “bunny bunny bunny” now! That sounds legit. I’ve made an excellent start on my holiday to-do list. Wrapped up the few gifts that have to be put in the post, just have to get them into padded envelopes and INTO the post. Unfortunately 3 of them were supposed to...

26
Nov
2024

COOKIE MONSTER IS SAVED

I am very sad about the cookie situation. Which is, that I can’t have any, because I’m not supposed to be eating sugar. And it’s coming up on Christmas cookie season. AUGH! I organized the cookie exchange for the AIC again this year, but at the very last minute, right before I sent out the email telling everyone how many were participating and how many cookies to make, I took my name off the list. There were 12 people participating, which was a nice number, and a lot of cookies, and I thought that if I had 66 cookies in...

December 2025
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