Nyköping

I am currently in Sweden, where everything is green and gorgeous. To put it in a perspective that my friends can relate to, it's a lot like the Tahoe area, except with more green meadows between all the stands of pine trees. I have been blessed with great weather since I got here, it's about 70 degrees during the day and about 40 at night.

I am staying with Carina and Per and their two children, Andreas and Emma. Carina lived with me for a year about 19 years ago, when my kids were tiny. We have kept in touch over the years, and she was thrilled to have me come visit when I told her that I was going to be in Scandinavia this fall. Carina is a CADD drafter (and many other things in her company! and Per is a plane mechanic. Andreas is 6 years old and Emma is 3. They are both beautiful and really bright. Andreas is pretty quiet much of the time, but Emma is a serious talker. She reminds me completely of Alec at that age. She has been teaching me some Swedish words in exchange for English words. I regret to say that her retention is about 100% while mine is near zero. I am getting old....

The area where Per and Carina live is a smattering of homes (maybe 130) about an hour outside Stockholm. More than half the homes are summer houses, so not too many families live here year-round. It is quiet and idyllic, with a lake a couple hundred meters away. There are deer and wild pigs in the woods. The sky is blue like I've never seen it, and there are so many huge stars at night - I am enthralled.

Sara, you'll be happy to know that I have taken pictures of some food as well, Carina made some sort of pork loin wrapped in bacon and stuffed with garlic, butter, tomato puree, and green onions that was to die for. Oh yeah, and topped with a cider sauce (I even took a photo of the sauce ingredients, so I can try to recreate it). We need to have a cooking fest when we get home!

The coast here is so different, too. Sweden is a land of islands, and so the coastal areas are full of channels and inlets, with no crashing waves as we know them. We went hiking yesterday on the coast about 15 miles from here, and it was great. I also visited a town called Trosa, where canals go through town and people have a house AND a boat. It all looked like something off a postcard.

So, we are off to buy converters for the Nintendo DS Lites that I brought for the kids (the chargers are, of course, built for 110V currents). I hope that everyone back in the states is happy and healthy. Be well, my friends!

Hej då,
Janine