Settling and Sweden Essentials

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In one of my first blogs, I said "it's one thing to say you're going to live in another country for a year and entirely another to actually do it", or something like that. Well, we did it. We're home, we're safe, we're grateful.

I wanted to share some re-cap and re-entry thoughts with you.

I blogged about my unsightly tooth gap, weight gain and bad haircuts. I've decided to live with the gap for awhile. If I don't look in the mirror, it doesn't bother me at all! I got a fantastic cut and color from my local stylist, Brenda, and I instantly felt so much more myself - some things are a must. Eat your heart out, Javier Bardem. The weight I gained due to a Swedish pastry addiction, lack of sunlight and darn good cheese had melted away, thanks to many spring hikes to the sea and an abundance of good and healthy food before we left Sweden. However, a desire to eat everything that I didn't eat while in Sweden has helped me gain a little back. Cheese curds, butter burger, Taco Bell, blizzards and bagels. I have not regrets.

I have overdosed on HGTV this past week and nearly cried the first time I caught Iron Chef on The Food Network. I'm not pleased with all the bad news on the television, but am thrilled to be able to understand what the newscasters are actually talking about. The recession is real, we knew it was but could pretend for awhile that it wasn't really happening. I'm sad to see local businesses struggling and closing and so many people we know losing jobs. It's just not right.

I love my washing machine. It takes forever to get enough clothes to fill it up and then it washes and dries so quickly I can hardly stand it. Until you've had to do laundry in one of those European models, you won't appreciate what I'm saying, but trust me. Two hours to wash 5 towels (and that's pushing it), plus two hours to MAYBE get them close to dry is not the way I want to do laundry. If I ever wanted to do laundry in the first place. All that time in a machine also destroys your clothes. My Swedish friend said that when she first came to the US and did a load of laundry, she would wash it twice because she thought there was no way it could get the clothes clean that quickly.

At this moment, I'm listening to the wind rustling through the leaves of our gigantic cottonwood trees and it's a sound that's crisp and soothing, all at the same. If I close my eyes, I can almost picture waves crashing against the shore. They are messy, messy trees and I love them anyway.

We have our sweet dog, Maya, home. She was well taken care of by the Iverson Family in St. Paul. However, a trip to the vet has revealed that she has an incurable disease and we are currently loving her up until we have to say good-bye, which will be soon. She has been a good and loving part of our family for almost 8 years. Signe and Emma both watched the movie "Marley & Me" on the airplane home, that was good timing.

There are some random things that we found essential this year, just thought I'd share them with you...maybe you can use the info for YOUR great adventure!

Canon Power Shot S3 IS camera. It took a lot of really great pictures and video for us on the most basic settings...I had the time to learn how to use it in more advanced settings and I didn't, and it was still a great camera. I took lots of photos FOR people in different countries and I feel fairly sure that you can't go wrong with a Canon or Nikon, the two most popular cameras I saw, by far.

Energizer rechargeable batteries. We had two sets of four for the entire year and never needed to replace them after thousands of miles and thousands of photos. Worth every penny and more.

Care packages from home. Thanks to Mom and Dad for an endless supply of the best beef jerky in the world (from Howard, of course), which makes a great host gift for traveling. Thanks to Suzi, Mary, Krissy, Connie and Jan who (using my Fed Ex business account, how slick is that?) kept us in peanut butter, Crisco and chocolate chips...which made us popular with the kid's classmates!

We lived for 11 months with the contents of 10 suitcases. It's so worth it to buy good quality clothing that is versatile. I'm forever grateful for the Patagonia fleece jacket I splurged on before we left MN and the North face down vest that Kristen sent...they packed easily, traveled well and still look great. I also spent a lot of time in my Asics running shoes (not running, but we took lots of hikes!) and Jeff went through a couple of pairs of Asics in his runs, as well. Long sleeved t-shirts with a little stretch were my constant staple. Because of the destructive nature of our washing machine in Sweden, I only bought a few "special" things to wear while in Sweden and I hand washed them.

Rick Steve's travel books - Europe and Scandinavia. We didn't always follow his advice, but valued it none the less.

Trip Advisor Travel Forums - my real life guides to each city we visited. Absolutely invaluable...they walked me through Paris and everywhere else.

Skype! Thanks to Skype, I got to see my sister more this year than since we were kids! We were able to see family and friends on a regular basis and for FREE. I like that.

Aveda hair products. Maybe it isn't Aveda for you, but having something from home that I loved and used every day just gave me a boost and a connection. Smell does that, you know?

Legos. They were Jorgen's ONLY toys this year and he wouldn't have it any other way. They are worth every penny and every yelp for each time I've stepped on one of the stupid little things.

Laptop computer. Good for communication, good for watching movies, good for passing time at the airports.

That's all for now...I'm heading out to catch up with friends!

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Comments

[Craig]

Welcome Home!
I've seen you in passing, but we need to get together soon.