The Lindahl News: Abroad Edition

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!)

Here he is in a billboard-sized picture with Wes standing next to him. The founder of IKEA whose first selling job came at age five when he sold matches and by 17 had started his own company selling French pens. The company was named  The acronym IKEA comes from his first and last initials and the family farm (Elmtaryd) where he was born and the nearby village (Agunnaryd) where he was raised. On Saturday, we had a road trip - a fall foliage spectacular - to visit the IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden. It was well worth the visit! The museum is located where the first IKEA store opened in 1958. Check out the crowd, the cars and the snow! The exhibit space started out with vignettes from the past that we found so interesting...and relatable as our ancestors knew this lifestyle:      This vignette had both the originals and the "inspirations" for IKEA design.    Carl and Karin Larsson's designs certainly had a lot to d...