Silver Linings

 

I pretty much should just put my blog on DND (Do Not Disturb) during the Olympics, because I am that weird junkie and I want to see as much as I can... while working full-time... and capturing high school sports.

Today, it just didn't work out that I could see the LIVE pairs curling competition between my original homeland Sweden and my current/real one USA. It did my heart good to see hundreds of people in nearby (somewhat) Duluth cheering on Korey and Cory. Cool.

And, spoiler alert, even though I'm about to sit down and watch delayed NBC coverage, I know they fell just a teensy tiny bit short of the gold. Still... yay USA! I usually wear more silver than gold anyway!

As for other events, you know I love figure skating but I do love a good hockey game (saw Miracle of 1980), long ski jumps, and the very creative snowboarding runs with flips, corkscrews and mathematical degrees of twists.

Just throw in all the other sports, and I'm good. Enjoy the games. No matter what OG Homeland (Scandi-hoovians are awesome in winter!) you're cheering for!

That One Time... in France

I love when the Olympics are held in a country I've actually visited before. While I haven't been to Paris, Carter and I spent a day in nearby Strasbourg, France, when he was studying abroad in Germany for a semester in college. I was only visiting for a long weekend and said, "Let's hop a train and go to France for the day!"

So much easier than it sounds. Like maybe 90 minutes on trains between Heidelberg, Germany, and Strasbourg. 

It was pretty cool, but we also learned that the French are a bit uppity and don't really want to lower themselves to speak English.

Glad they're sporting a different attitude for the Olympics!

I took Friday off and drove up to Luck to do my sibling home healthcare shift with Rachel. After getting Friday fish fries for the famous Hack's Pub (owned by a childhood neighbor boy), we sat down and watched the opening ceremonies. Some of it was kind of strange, but overall we wondered how Los Angeles could possibly replicate something so unique in 4 years.

Bon travail! (That means "good job" in French, according to Google translate!)

We got up this morning and watched a bit of bicycling in the slipper rain, water polo, soccer, and extreme ping-pong (what the heck?!). Got home tonight just in time to see some gymnastics and hopefully swimming. My life is in NBC's hands!

As much as I love the Olympics, I will update you that more importantly, Rachel is doing great. Miss Super Independent! She's still in a wheelchair and can't put weight on her left leg for a few weeks. But managing so well. I was just there as a hands-off guardian angel – trying to keep cool air circulating in these nearly 90-degree temps!

Uff da!

That reminds me, of course I'm cheering for Team USA but I'll root for my home countries of Sweden and Norway when our red, white, and blue aren't in the mix!

Go TEAM!! We got this! 

Back to My Snow-Covered Roots

It was so fitting that our family Christmas gathering was in Mora, Minnesota, since all of us "original kids" in my family are three-fourths Sweden. 

This 22-foot-tall Dala Horse statue downtown is a replica of the Dalecarlian horses hand carved in Mora, Sweden. And stands a reminder of the community's (and my family's) cultural heritage. Like I said, fitting for a gathering of the other roots in my family tree.

Of course, Saturday dawned sunny and perfectly blue skies after the treacherous Friday night. The snow totals looked something like this:

Not a ton in Rapids, but enough that we're extremely grateful to the next-door neighbor for snowblowing us out so we could arrive home and not have to dig ourselves in. Although our route Friday night caused some serious angst, we were glad we went north first, then west. Had we gone our usual route through Hudson and up, I don't know where we would've ended up. They got 17.9 inches there!

So we had a nice easy drive from our hotel in North Branch up to Freddie's restaurant in Mora. It was a fun relaxing time with a buffet of food (none of us had to make!), our usual family program, and time for games and visiting.

Festive sisters Nell and Ro.

Decorating gingerbread men and women.

RoAnn and her family hosted and it was great! Here they kick off the program. Yup, there was even a stage and microphone available. Like the place was built for us!

I convinced Jim, Carter, and Mamie to participate in the program with me, doing a "2021 by the numbers" thing. Mom was of course the star of the show, singing a some she wrote for a previous program and reminding us all we are "hers." Blessed to have her for another Christmas!

Game time and who has the winning card?! We know where we get our competitive streak!

Made my twin a "Lene's Hallmark Movie Mug" mug!

Silly Siblings Part 1.

Silly Siblings. Part 2. (AKA Silly SKOL Sisters!)

Hit the road home around 4-ish. Had clear roads all the way back the Wisconsin Rapids. Whew.

When we got home, we celebrated Christmas with Mamie since we won't see her on Christmas. She's modeling the vintage Mountain Dew hat Jim picked out and the pink and orange (her fave colors) blanket I crocheted her!

Carter and Mamie headed back to Potosi this afternoon and I caught up on a few things that I couldn't concentrate on Friday morning while packing and fretting over the forecast. I may just sit and watch TV this evening. 

Anything good on?

Sweet BleSSingS

I don't do math, but I think we're about two-thirds of the way through! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter S which so sweet when I think of all my bleSSings.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging Out, Passport, Phone
Q = Quiet
R = R People

Scandi-hoovian-ism: Ya sure. You betcha I'm grateful for my Scandi-hoovian-sim. I believe that's a condition where one is three-fourths Swede and one-fourth Norwegian. Stubborn as hell. But carries it well. Right? And to observe this great heritage, we drove to a gas station 89.2 miles away to buy some lefse. So not kidding. Good story, though.

So our high school football coach hails from the southwest sector of the state. Early last week, knowing we were going to be playing in Blair, he told my hubby that they have the "world's best lefse" there (Wisconsin's anyway) and that he'd just have to try it. So Jim – who is zero percent Scandi anything – looked up the website for company and called to see where they sold their product and they told him Kwik Trip in Blair does. In fact, you can call and they'll set some aside for you. So he did. And they said they would. 

So I said, "So I'm your 100% Scandinavian wife and the football coach gets you to try lefse?" 

He said, "You never asked me to try it."

"And I wouldn't have," I said. "It's not that exciting." No offense, family.

But we picked some up and this photo is of my morning breakfast. Warm lefse with butter and cinnamon and sugar on it. That's how I roll! Jim said it was fine. I mean, what more can you say about paper-thin Russet potatoes? Still, it's a traditional food from my Scandi-hoovian homelands. So I'm glad we got it. It's like celebrating St. Lucia Day early! Skol!

Sisters: Of course I'm grateful for my sisters! Even though I've mentioned them before, I better so I remain the most popular.

Sylvester: And yes, we're blessed to have Princess Pukes-A-Lot with us. Even though she greeted me with a morning mess when her heaving prompted me to heave her off the carpet and into the dining room – where she deposited puke puddles as she was flying. Very long, runny, runway for that plane to land. As we say in my homeland, uff da!

She's still a special, sweet 16-year-old, though! Until the next time...

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

P is for Plenty

 

We're more than halfway there! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter P which means I have Plenty of blessings to be thanks for.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force

Pigging Out: I never said that every blessing that brings me joy is good for me. By sheer coincidence, I have been Pigging Out this week on pizza (Monday night dinner) and popcorn (today's lunch AND dinner) not to mention Pumpkin Spice coffee. And, next week, here comes Pumpkin Pie! Perfect! 

Passport: I will never take for granted my ability to travel "wherever I want" thanks to my passport. Because, what good is a passport 2020? No place to go abroad and nobody wants us. That's why I'm so grateful I got two trips to Europe stamped on my passport – Norway, Sweden, Denmark two summers ago, and Germany and France 18 months ago. So amazing to expand our horizons! It has opened my window to the world. Cannot wait until this global pandemic is replaced by global travel! 

Phone: I do panic a bit when I leave the house and realize I forgot my phone. It's not like there's that many people besides telemarketers that actually call. But I get plenty of texts. And yeah, I what if a photo op comes up and I don't have my phone (aka small camera)? Guess I just picture it in my mind, right? (Unless I'm traveling somewhere a passport's required. I need share that image somehow!) I am grateful that smart phones especially have made it much easier to stay in pretty constant contact with my siblings and, uhm, parentally persistent contact with the boys.

Hey, it all pleases me today. 

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

Back in my Super Model Days...

OK, I obviously have never been a super model. Not even remotely. But I have been the poster child for a few things. And I have been on the cover of a magazine. Sort of...

I love that my memories on Facebook this week are popping up with photos from our Scandi-hoovian Tour two summers ago! Oh what a time! And really, how blessed am I that I timed that trip and my Germany trip to happen before all this pandemic business. Lucky me!

It it a great trip down memory lane – even the "photo shoot" at the IKEA Museum in southern Sweden. I'm obviously dressed for a cover shoot with my jeans and running shoes on! Uff da. (Had to throw one in there!)

I think all of us who have traveled in the past year feel fortunate that we got to go someplace – or frankly that we had someplace to go! Today is Post-Washington Day 99. I don't think I'll have much of a summer vacation. I have vacation days to take but, again, where do I have to go? Or, more accurately, where can I go?

This is the one time a Stay-Cation has no appeal to me. And my overseas modeling gigs overseas are few and far between.

Just like IKEA, I'll have to assemble a little adventure here. Maybe something with Swedish meatballs and sunshine and relaxation. And definitely no snakes. Keep those in Ireland, St. Patrick!

It's in my DNA

One sure way to distract hubby and me is offering free access to a genealogy website. It's one of those hobbies you can ignore for months at a time, then suddenly you get back into it for a night. And 3 hours later wonder what where the evening went.

If you do family tree work, the site is https://www.americanancestors.org/. Free access until Nov. 19. However, it is a site hosted by some New England group, so this Midwest girl hasn't had any luck with matching searches. Even immigration records. So...

Here I am with nothing to show for it. After 3 hours. EXCEPT I also got an email from Ancestry.com, who I did my DNA test through a few years back, and they said my DNA results are updated. I was a bit suspicious since I hadn't sent in a new spit sample. Turns out their methods for interpreting results have improved and so my results have an updated interpretation.

No real changes other than that small 6% or 11% or whatever that was "possibly other European" is now gone. I am 100% Scandinavian! Which, based on my family tree work is a fact.

Interesting that the new interpretation has me more Norwegian than Swede, but in real life I am 75% Swede and 25% Norwegian. Also... the new possibility that I am 7% Finnish will have my dad rolling in his grave.

I honest to god (or Valhalla), heard him talk about "those goofy Finlanders" once when I was growing up. Ha. My dad had opinions.

I guess that's in my DNA, too! No need for some expensive DNA kit to tell you that.

Way Back Wednesday

When I mentioned today that June is my birthday month, I realized that last year at this time I hadn't even gone on my Scandi-hoovian adventure yet! Wow. That seems like ages ago. Until...

This memory popped up in my Facebook feed today. Carter graduated from 8th grade... a mere 7 years ago. Seven years??? Who is that child? One of us is getting old. That's for sure.

Speaking of getting old... Kidding. We got together with one of Jim's high school classmates tonight and her hubby. Even though I golfed at SentryWorld last night and we ate at their restaurant PJ's last week, we hadn't gone to PJ's LIVE before. Starting tonight and most Wednesday evenings in summer, they have live music. For free. And now I know it's pretty popular. I don't know how many hundreds of people were camped out in lawn chairs and rockin'.

We listened to the amazingly talented Spicy Tie Band while eating burgers and brats and talking about old times. Well the two 1981 Assumption grads talked tales from way back. We spouses just nodded and kept time to the music. Feeling young. Haha.

But were grateful we all had time together. And the weather was perfect, too!

For the record, we stayed out past 8:30 p.m. so we aren't 100 percent old yet. When I look back at this memory next summer, I hope I can say the same!

Just Bork It

Sorry to offend anyone, but really, really just had to share this. I know there is serious division out there over a certain athletic shoe advertisement. But this made me giggle.

As the Swedish Chef always does! Bork Bork!

And I might have to make this my new logo for my fantasy football team – the undefeated Swedish Chef Mafia! Hey, a 1-0 record still counts as undefeated. But I will say that my matchup this past week probably yielded the lowest scores. I don't know who else the SCM can beat this year, but everyone has a hot week once in awhile.

I'll hold onto that hope. And when all else fails, I'll just Bork Bork Bork it!

Yah, hey.

New Release :: Skol Sisters in Scandi-Hoovia

Hot off the press! Finally figured out how to share my Skol Sisters in Scandi-hoovia scrapbook with you. Hopefully this works! If the first link doesn't work, try the second. Or, if it's easier, just tell me you want to see it and I'll show you the real deal!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Or click here to go directly to book: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZs2TRmzasWT3w

Thanks for coming along on the whole journey! SKOL!

 

It. Is. Finished.

Whew. Scrapbook done and ordered. Wow. What a project! I hope I didn't forget anything!

Ended up getting to use three coupons for Shutterfly: 40% off, free shipping, and the big one – free extra pages (savings of $145 right there). Can't wait to hold it in my hands and share the adventure.

Now I can finally finish unpacking and putting stuff away. Ha. And now I can get some sleep!

Scrappin' Gods are Smiling

When you wake up in the morning and your email from Shutterfly says they're extending that super deal for two more days... your day is made. And your night is busy.

Still have a lot of work to do on my Sweden book... but am getting close!

I have golf tomorrow night so we'll see if I can make that midnight deadline. Not going to rush my game. Not every week both the scrappin' gods and golf gods are smiling on me.

Multi-Slacking, er Scrapping

I saw the term "multi-slacking" today and I love it! Sometimes I am multi-tasking and other times... not so much.

Today I had one goal. Finish my Sweden trip scrapbook so I could order it by midnight tonight to take advantage of a major money-saving deal. I knew it was going to be a huge undertaking. But hey, what else you gonna do on a rainy weekend day?

Well... it didn't rain.

So it took me awhile to get started. Had to go to church, do grocery shopping, and sit outside (of course) to eat my lunch. (That's the slacking part.) Such a gorgeous day!

Focus, girl. Focus!

So I did spend several hours on the book. (That's the scrapping part.) I am up to Day 10 of 14 and have 52 pages done. Just am not going to make that midnight deadline. But, as my friend reminded me, Shutterfly has coupons all the time. So hopefully they'll have that great "free pages" one again soon. I'm still going to keep cruising on it this week – on that one free night, ha.

But here's a few from today...

Every page I am amazed at how much we did over there and how much we saw!

No wonder I'm tired.

Hobble Stone

Since it's raining tonight – finally! – there will be no golfing or kayaking for this adventure girl. Instead, it's back to my Sweden scrapbook. I really need to get my uff da mojo back to finish this thing!

As I looked at these pictures of the various cobblestone streets we walked in almost every town, I am so grateful I didn't break my toe until after we got home. Despite the pretty stone layouts in the photos above, most streets were uneven terrain. It was hard enough to walk without having toe, foot, or leg issues.

They really should be called "hobble" stone streets.

Which is pretty much any place I walk these days. Can you tell I am so over this waddling business? Having the most impatient person in the world WAIT for something to heal is, well, torture. Probably for everyone around!

At least I am getting a little more comfortable in my stride. Evening it out a bit. Still confining myself to pretty much walking to the restroom and coffee shop at work. And no laps around the neighborhood when I get home.

Maybe this rain will be a good thing. Help the grass, the crops, my flowers... and keep me inside multi-tasking (aka resting the foot and scrapping).

One of these days I wouldn't mind resting it outside in Mr. Deck Chair. He misses me. He sent me a Get Well card and everything. (Yes, I may have injured my head in the Pinky Incident.)

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Kind of felt like I was under house arrest today. Hubby was very good at playing doctor. As in making sure I stayed home and OFF my feet. That's hard when it's nice out and it's Saturday and there is nothing on the calendar and I could have gone out and about at my leisure. Sigh...

But, no. Someone has to be the smart one.

Based on the fact, I am the one wearing the boot, it's not me.

So after I did my chores, I basically parked myself at the computer and working on my Sweden scrapbook. I am going through Shutterfly and am about to start page 30... which is also Day 6. For real. And yes,  I'm a little concerned about the page limits!

I also don't know when I can dedicate a big chunk of hours to it again. Am traveling tomorrow and busy Monday night. I do have time to do a few more tonight. I'll share a few pages to keep myself inspired...

Obviously, you can't read the fine print, but I promise to show you when I'm done... probably about the same time I get rid of this boot.

If the good doctor in the house lets me.

Hump Day Haha

It's hump day and most of us have to work 5 days in a row (gasp!) this week. It was quite a long day with work and a 2-hour meeting at church this evening. I'm tired and my computer needs a re-boot.

Nothing today could top yesterday's round of golf, so I'll just share this Hump Day Haha with you from 3 weeks ago today.

It was raining hard when we visited the moose preserve in Sweden. But my sister wanted to get a picture of the twins with the baby twins. Never let it be said that rain ponchos are just functional.

They are FUN-ctional, too! And dorky. And obviously so embarrassing the one twin turned his back on us!

But we are laughing hard. At the situation. And ourselves. How freeing!

Hope you found a haha today that can get you through the long week!

Don’t forget Flat Jesus

Author's Note (ha, always wanted to write that): This is one of my almost-weekly little devotions we run in my church bulletin.

On my recent tour through Scandinavia, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit several churches – from old country churches to chapels inside of centuries-old castles. One theme was consistent: Despite the humble exteriors, the interiors was beyond opulent.

Lots of gold paint drawing attention to everything from large “crowns” hanging over the pulpit to quite the variety of religious sculptures. It was both beautiful and over the top at the same time. And really, how can you concentrate on hearing anything if you’re so busy looking?

There was one castle that had a room painted floor to ceiling with battle scenes and elements of war… with angels hanging from the ceiling here and there. The tour guide said the Swedes were proving that God was on their side during the war. Hmmm.

It was interesting to see, though. And as I’ve seen in many old churches, they had numbered pews that were enclosed with half doors so families – prominent or otherwise – could sit in “their place” each week (keeping others out).

Who would have heard of such a ridiculous concept? Sitting in the same place every week? Apparently a tradition centuries in the making that goes haywire during our church's combined summer services.

While the churches were photo-worthy, I found my most meaningful time with God outside of the buildings. Sitting on rocks overlooking a lake. Walking down a flower-filled path. Watching the tide roll in. There is an awful lot of praying that can get done without the noise pollution of the office, the television, the phone, and the computer. It was awesome!

One of my sisters brought along a Flat Jesus (akin to Flat Stanley) from her home church. She posed him in number of places – I guess to show Jesus was on tour with us. I generally don’t need a Flat Jesus to prove that He’s everywhere. But if it helps you keep Him front and center during your busy summer weekends outside of the church building, bring him along!

Pretty sure God will just be happy to hear your voice. No gold or props required.

Uff Da, Dat's Some Jet Lag

I forgot I had posted this sign on my desk before I left for vacation. Pretty cool to see all flag logos now for the countries I visited – even if just for a few hours: Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway.

The easiest part of the day was taking the sign down and turning on my computer. Then the hard part... After concentrating really hard to remember my password, I then spent the day concentrating on staying awake. When I got in at 8 a.m., it felt like 3 p.m., so I knew I was good for about two hours!

Never underestimate the power of jet lag after international travel. I now realize why I've never experienced it before. One, I was never 7 time zones away before. And two, I was never anywhere long enough to have my body get used to that schedule.

I am hoping hitting the hay in short order will help me catch up. Or at least help my body adjust.

Thankfully, I have a ton of work to do at the office to keep me upright this week. Believe me. Every yawn and stretch and mind-numbing moment is worth it!

Can't help smiling about the vacation that exceeded my expectations. And about the amazing people in our group who transitioned from strangers to extended family. I bet we're all watching the clock right now thinking, is 9 p.m. too early for bed?

The answer is no.

No, it's not.

Swede dreams!

Sisters in Scandi-hoovia :: Actually, Back in America

Guess who came back to America with me? Everyone we left Minneapolis with!

Shout out to the US Embassy for making quick work of getting my twin a replacement passport in time to fly home with us!

Knowing we'd land in Minneapolis at 1:30 a.m. Sweden Time, I tried to sleep on plane as much possible! After many hugs goodbye at airport, Rayna's husband Paul picked us up and drove us and our heavy suitcases to their place in Hudson, where my car's been parked.

When I went upstairs to their apartment, I got quite the surprise! My keys were there – but so was my hubby! What an awesome surprise. He drove over with Carter in the morning and Carter drove the CRV back to Rapids. They. Are. The. Best!

Thank god Jim drove home. I slept so hard the last hour of the trip I don't know how I would have done it on my own!

Well it's almost midnight here and almost 7 a.m. in Sweden. My body says, "Blog later... Bed NOW!"

Thanks for coming along on the journey. There'll be more to share...

Sisters in Scandi-hoovia :: Day 13

Our last full day abroad. Cue the tears. We had our final group outing. And, finally, it was warm enough I didn't need a jacket! I know it was a heat wave back home but I missed it and I want it there when I get home, welcoming me.

For our trip today we took a ferry ride to Stora Fjäderholmarna. I know. Easy for ME to say!

The Fjäderholmarna (English translation: Feather Islands) are a group of small islands in the Stockholm archipelago close to downtown Stockholm. The Fjäderholmarna consist of the four named islands -- including Stora Fjäderholmen -- and a bunch of smaller islets.

It only took about 20 minutes to ferry over and we had a few free minutes before lunch. The island is home to a number of craft workshops and stores, as well as several restaurants and cafes. Here's a few photos from the "commute" and the island...

Cool sculpture in the harbor.

Look! A lighthouse! Yes, I could live here. Between lighthouses, water, and ice cream, I'm set. Well, I need my brown-eyed guys and an income, too, but I can dream.

The island had a cool playground. You may have seen large chess sets before, but here they had a big tic-tac-toe set.

Plus a large board game setting for Aggravation or Sorry.

Technically, this is probably for the kids, too. But darn it, if I'm squeezing into the ice cream picnic table, then I'm getting a picture, too!

Getting our nautical fun on. 

I will miss all these cute signs, equipment, and decorations that I don't know how to read!

Since this is the site of an old fishing village, there were original and restored boats on display. Very cool.

This is where we had our last lunch together. Why yes, it was Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes. Thanks for asking. And yes, there were lingonberries again, too. Yum.

The island included some dormant military equipment from the days it was off limits to the public and served as a military zone. Now the seagulls (and photographers) like them.

Busy day on the waters around Stockholm. What else is more appealing on a Sunday afternoon?

 Our trip leader Martin waiting on the group... again.

Our two fearless leaders -- Martin and his sister Anna. They are the best!

We got back to the area of Stockholm called Gamla Stan -- basically "old town" for several free hours to roam the historic sector of the city, shop, or go back to the hotel to pack or nap.

Raylene and I checked it out. There were so many things to see. The history of the buildings, architecture, and statues was mixed with quite the busy shopping scene.

We visited the Royal Palace, where several guards stood on duty. For looks anyway. There is definitely serious security types inside by all the artifacts.

Inside the Royal Chapel. Wow.

Remember how I said ice cream is part of the food pyramid here? Apparently Ben & Jerry's knew that. As much as I love it, I kept my treats as local and native as I could.

Just kidding. We skipped Ben & Jerry's but also skipped the reindeer surprise. Has some salted caramel-coconut gelato instead! Yes, we're quite aware our scales will be working overtime when we get back!

Had to pose by our lucky number. June 28 is just around the corner!

Narrow streets for eager shoppers. There were 6 different cruise ships docked in town this weekend!

Cool graffiti alleyway.

This is what happens when we're left unsupervised! I assured hubby we didn't buy these. Just borrowed them. Am trying not to bring too many extra things home.

How's that working out? Well, we packed as much as we could before our farewell dinner. So far Raylene and I don't think we'll be overweight. With luggage, that is!

At 7 p.m. we had our last meal together as a whole group. No fish or Swedish meatballs. We had chicken to help transition our stomachs to American food or something.

If was tough to think of it as a goodbye. Not only was the trip fun for all the new experiences and sight-seeing. We got to meet more than 2 dozen strangers who are now part of a big family. How awesome is that?

After dinner tonight we played cards again with the Iowa Sisters, as we call them. Managed to win a game but then go sloppy and tired. We gotta sleep fast tonight. Lene is off to the embassy at 7 a.m. or so. And the rest of us head to the airport at 10:30.

Hopefully all goes well so Lene can join the rest of her big family for the long ride home. Hold your thumbs (like the Swedes do for luck) and keep the prayers coming.