Family in Stockholm

As promised, I've got some photos for you. My dad and mom arrived on a Sunday morning at the beginning of April and stayed in Sweden for two weeks. I was lucky to have a chance to feel the comfort of family in a place I've come to love so much.

I had to work the first week my parents were here, so they spent their first several days visiting my classroom and showing themselves around Stockholm and the surrounding area. During the second week of their trip, we rented a car and drove west to Karlstad, the area of my Swedish ancestry. We stayed at a cottage on Lake Vänern and spent our days there chatting, reading many books, eating lots of soup, snacking on licorice, drinking tea, sitting by the water, and walking through the woods (mindful of the ticks, of course). We also were able to share a cozy meal on a rainy afternoon with some of my dad's Swedish family.

I suppose this visit is old news now, but the memories are still warm and bright in my mind and I wanted to share with you some images from our time together.  

Our cottage for the week.

Down the stairs from the cottage: a sauna.

View from the wrap-around porch.

Dad, making potato-leek soup on our first evening at the cottage.

Sunny living room.

...with a cozy fireplace.

Another view of our lovely lakeside sauna.

We headed north in our rental car to explore Sweden... and found ourselves in the land of the dalahäst!

Before...

...and after.

Carl Larsson's house.

Swedish countryside.

Barn near our cottage.

Hiking through the Lake Vänern woods.

Signs of spring!

Last sunset from our porch.

 

Giving Thanks

I managed to consume two fantastic Thanksgiving dinners this week, despite living far away from the land of pumpkins, turkey, football, and Black Friday. I’m grateful for both “families” with whom I enjoyed an American Thanksgiving feast.

I am thankful that I’m heading to New York in less than a month. I can’t wait to see my family, my friends, and my perfect street with the glittering lampposts shining through the silently falling snow.

I am thankful that I live in a place that is within easy travel distance to lots of interesting places. This Friday, it’s London or bust!

I am thankful that the process of mixing and then heating butter, sugar, flour, and a few other ingredients can turn an average night into a cozy, warm, comforting evening.

I am thankful that my students may actually be learning something from me. Out of 150 students, about 90 of them earned perfect scores on their most recent quiz, in which I asked them to define words like “bias,” “column,” “plagiarism,” “source,” and “reliable.” Of course, I also have days when I wonder if they heard/understood anything I said during an entire lesson. So I hang on to these bright moments.

I am thankful for books such as The Thirteenth Tale that quickly and unexpectedly draw me into their plotline. (Thanks for the recommendation, Tiffany.)

I am thankful that hot water comes out of my shower (I am still a bit traumatized by the lack of hot water/electricity/internet in my apartment for my first few days in Stockholm).

I am thankful that my Monday and Wednesday evenings are spent with encouraging, uplifting, and insightful friends. And fika. Always fika.

And, of course, I am especially thankful for my mom, dad, and sister. Their love contributes to my sense of stability when everything else seems new and unknown.

Don’t worry, I will avoid being so sappy in future posts. Promise!