(Aunt) Jan's Top 10 from her most recent visit

April 27 - May 12, 2014

1.  As always, seeing and being with Gordon, Nancy, Gabby, Audra, and Sofia is the best.  Walking to and from school each day.  Playing Legos.  Watching Gabby and Sofia perfect their magic tricks.  Helping out with homework.  Playing cards.  Doing art projects together.  Hanging out in the bunk room; giggling with Audra and Sofia.  Learning new technology tricks from Gabby. Reading together (“Paperboy" by Vince Vawter and "Counting by 7’s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan).  It was so great to be able to bring Mom and Dad over so that they could get a first hand view of all things Stockholm. Life in Castle Land is always a busy, whirling hub of activity!

Unc (Marshall), Audra, and Sofia walking to school one morning

Mom, Nancy, and Dad after lunch at Coco and Carmen in Ostermalm

Gabby, Nancy, Sofia, Audra, and Dad in the park across the street from school

Gabby in the park

Sofia brings “Thy” (pronounced “Thee”) home from school for the weekend and must write about the experience in the class journal.  Thy’s side kick is “Empa”.  Put the two stuffed animals together and you get “Empathy”.  A very important core value. 

Thy watches the Royal Horses get some exercise

Thy stops in the bakery in search of Sofia’s favorite treat chokladbiskvier.  Thy also ends up playing a lot of Legos and doing a puzzle, among other things.

2.  Celebrating Mom’s 83rd birthday.  Dad, who turns 83 in June, likes to say that for one month a year, he hangs out with an older woman. We are so blessed that they both are happy and healthy.  Marshall came over to help us celebrate, too. 

the Princess cake…of course! 

Mom’s birthday dinner at Villagio in Ostermalm

3.  The Swedish International School (SIS) concert. Audra and Sofia are in the Youth Choir and they performed two great songs:  Only Tear Drops and Walking on Sunshine.  The Middle and Upper School Choirs also performed and the faculty band rocked. The Yale University Alley Cats kicked off their European tour by making their first guest appearance at the SIS concert. The Alley Cats are an all male, undergraduate a cappella singing group, founded in 1943. They were very funny, talented, and entertaining.  The highlight of the evening occurred when all the choirs and the Alley Cats performed “Happy” together.  The little auditorium was packed with students, the parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and siblings.  Glancing around, it looked as though the world was represented in one room.  Nancy says that SIS is host to 61 countries and languages. That evening we were all united by our love for these children and music.  Happy, indeed.  

4.  Celebrating Walpurgis night on April 30 (the spring equinox) with bonfires and songs.  The next day, these celebrations are followed with peaceful demonstrations by the politically active. 

the songs

the bonfire

A night out.  No school tomorrow.  Three happy girls. 

5.  The Garage - Snickerbacken 7.  It’s on the path to/from SIS so it’s very easy to stop in and enjoy fika (and sometimes a small raspberry/blueberry muffin).  My favorite coffee shop.

The Garage from the road above

the entrance

the fika! 

Audra doing her homework in the Garage after school

morning fika (by candlelight) with Dad, Mom, Nancy, and Marshall.  There is a great little boutique adjacent to the coffee shop. 

Unc and Audra bonding over fika treats

One Saturday, Gabby and I talk through the components of a science paper she has to write on “Noise”.  Introduction, focusing the direction of the paper, supporting evidence and ideas, with a strong conclusion.  Moving from general to specific information.  She nailed it so we celebrating over a plate of sushi.

  

6.  Hanging out in the park on a Saturday afternoon.  We goofed off, picked dandelions, and played Kubb.  Kubb is a lawn game where the object is to knock over wooden blocks by throwing wooden batons at them.  It’s a bit like what happens if you crossed bocce with horseshoes, borrowed a bit of chess, and then bend over.  Sounds strange but it’s a totally fun way to spend an afternoon.  Gabby also directed and shot a video that day.  We all had supporting roles. 

in between games, we had time to pick flowers

Gordon and Carl Gustav

7. Walking Lucy.  We discover all kinds of interesting shops and sights as we criss-cross the neighborhood. 

Lucy joined me for fika at the Garage one morning.  I love that dogs are welcome inside and Lucy was very well mannered. 

Lucy and I stopped in at Cards & Things in Ostermalm on one of our walks.  A lovely little shop. 

8. The Markets.  One look at the produce and flowers and you’ll understand why.

9. Fika with the expat Walking Group - at Flickorna. 

10. Helping the girls make their Mother’s Day presents for Nancy and Grams, then celebrating Mother’s Day.  It was a very special day. 

the girls made candle sticks for Nancy

and Dala horses for Grams