I am bemused by the way winter is perceived in the not so cold parts of Japan. Sometimes I feel like an alien who landed on a planet where I admittedly recognize the climate of my home planet but where the concept of seasons and what they mean seem to follow a different set of […]
Since our son now is old enough to start to eat normalish food, we got a pamphlet in the mail with some easy recipes and tips for how to prepare and cook home made baby food. On the cover of the pamphlet it says easy even for dad, which made me laugh and at the
Clouds have fascinated me since I was young. I liked finding animals in the cumulus clouds (actually I still do), seeing their shapes, watching them move over the sky, putting faces on them. As I grew older I started to find stillness and peace from looking at the grey skies or watching streaks of white
Soon winter is here and our son turns six months. It has been a life changing year since I started this blog and looking back, thinking about all that has happened in my life, I see so much to be thankful for. So today’s post is a little note of thanks. First of all I
Tonight it occurred to me that I am the only one speaking Swedish in our everyday life. It sounds silly when I put it like that, of course I have been very aware ever since I moved to Japan, and even more so after the corona pandemic made it difficult if not impossible to meet
I have vivid memories of my grandmother washing clothes in the sea during our long school holidays that we spend at her summer cottage. It was in the north of Sweden, and the sea water was still beautifully clean although she was very vocal about the industries polluting the sea – that was forty years
One of the cultural challenges I experienced when moving to Japan was when visiting the post office. I could not speak much Japanese, and they could speak no or very very little English. Add to that the need to fill out form after form when sending parcels or express documents to Sweden, and we have
It is remarkable how little it sometimes takes to experience healing stillness inside. For what felt like the first time in ages I could last Sunday reconnect with the beauty of nature and catch up with properly being myself. That is the thing with the corona pandemic and the restrictions that follows – the connection
Finally, after almost five months, our son could meet his Japanese grandparents. We thought it would be a very stressful experience to travel from Tokyo to Kyushu with a small baby during a pandemic, but when we arrived in Fukuoka we felt like it had been smoother and safer than going to the supermarket in
Before moving to Japan, one thing that fascinated me is what I call talking home appliances. When visiting Japan I could hear baking machines speak, bath water control panels sing, rice cookers play songs. I thought it cute and dreamy and fancied living in a home where I was surrounded by those friendly machines instead
For over one year I have had the privilege to admire my wife’s beautiful grey hair come out of hiding, centimeter by centimeter (you can catch up on another grey hair story here). I have also had the honor to witness her, with the gray hair associated, bravery; while I have enjoyed seeing my wife’s
With a four months old baby and all the joys and challenges he brings maybe I should be too busy to miss anything, but this week I have been overcome with nostalgic feelings from the time before the face of the world changed. Maybe it is tiredness, maybe it is that autumn is coming, maybe