The Lindahl News: Abroad Edition

While we may have spent a lot of time eating and fika-ing, there was just so much more that we did with John and Kari when they visited us in Jonkoping!  We walked. We talked. We played games like Rook and Yahtzee. They learned how to play Rummy 500. We hung around in our pajamas. We did some Christmas shopping. We got caught up with the lives of our Grandsons whom we miss so very much. Since these two became parents to three active boys, it's been a challenge just to have a conversation that goes from start to finish.  All very wonderful, to be sure, but a challenge none-the-less. So when I say we talked, it was just such a gift. These two mean the world to us and it was lovely to get to spend time with them! They are now back at home but their visit refreshed us. Just as the visit from Anne and E and M refreshed us. To be honest, there have been times here where my heart aches from loneliness of being so far away from my family....

Was it the Julbord at IKEA? It was very nice and festive...but no. Was it the salmon dinner I prepared in our apartment? No, it wasn't. How about the long-awaited pizza at Evergreen? No...not even that!  It was the delicious dinner prepared by Simon and Sofia in their lovely home. Simon and John were friends at SVF back in the day. Now both are married and fathers of young children. I admit to getting a bit teary when I saw the two embrace at the doorway, one lifting the other off the ground in a hug.  The food was so delicious. The kids were adorable beyond belief. But it was their friendship renewed after so many years that I will hold in my heart forever.  Thank you, Sofia and Simon for including us in this mealtime - this best mealtime in all our time together!   (Please give your two barn our  greetings as well!)

From an online blurb: The Match museum Welcome to the world's only match museum, which is housed in a beautiful wooden building from 1848 that was the first match factory in the city. It is located in the beautiful building that once was the first match factory in Jönköping. In the museum, living match history is told. Encounter the people and machines that built up the match industry and developed it into a global operation. You will find an exciting film and thousands of matchboxes and labels. The shop has a wide range of matchboxes, labels, books and much more. Join us for an exciting journey from tree to finished match. If you´re lucky, you might meet Ivar Kreuger in person. Welcome to visit the Match Museum!   I'd just like to put it out there that we never met Iver Kreuger. He's the one who built the global match and financial empire.  He died in 1932 in Paris...maybe there's a g...

Our son and his wife arrived the day after Anne and her flickas departed.  With our apartment all decorated for the holidays, we were in for one festive visit!  (Many thanks go out to Kari's parents for watching their boys while J and K were here in Sweden with us - they survived a snowstorm that closed schools, a power outage in their home and even a bout or two of stomach flu...whew!) As with the girls, we promised to have fika every day. We delivered on that promise. After John was coerced, bribed, asked to talk to Wes's class of Swedish students - the class being Intro to the United States of America.  John acted as a guest lecturer explaining what it is like to be an Election Judge in the Chicago area, He was more than ready for fika after his first true gig of being a professor. (Ask him about the time he masqueraded as such in his younger days.)  This was our Monday fika at the Bagarn Bakery. On Tuesday, usually a kanelbullar ...

When we moved into our apartment in August, we found a closet shelf full of items left behind from former North Park professors.  Many of these were labeled as Christmas decorations...a tree, lights, a hanging star, a ljusstake/candelabra and some ornaments. A special shout-out goes to John and Beth Hjelm for many of their contributions and to Rachelle for the balcony lights.  Thank you!! E and M wanted to put up the Christmas tree before they left . If you look towards the top of the tree, you will see a second star that M made. After the girls left, I moved the tree to create more floor space. The second star still hangs on the tree as a reminder of the girl who placed it there. The pillows on the couch are slipcover-style over the original orange pillows. With the borrowed sewing machine, these were projects sewn this fall. I also sewed slipcover-style covers to go over the cat print pillows Rachelle left behind. Rachelle also left...

It snowed (just a dusting) overnight!  So our fllickas got to see a bit of winter magic here in Jonkoping before leaving tomorrow...good thing they had their "new" snowpants. They would need them for the longish walk down the hill to the Lans Museum. There is a John Bauer Museum inside that I had planned on taking them to based upon an earlier visit that I blogged about on September 11. If you'll recall, John Bauer was a Swedish painter born in 1882 in Jonkoping.  He is best known for his illustrations of Swedish folklore and fairy tales. Here the girls show their enthusiasm for this museum. Once inside, there are racks of clothing to try on to fit right into the enchanted forest with its inhabitants.  Their mother and grandmother got into the spirit while the flickas made their selections. Choices made! I rather fancy this picture of the mother and her offspring. After all these costume changes, we headed to the ar...