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
Living with a baby is like living in slow motion and in a time lapse at the same time. Lately the nights seem to never end; how many times is it possible to wake up during the night, how little is it possible to sleep and still be aware of being awake – nights when
How did I manage to do cooking all those years in Sweden without the number one most fantastic indispensable yet most simple kitchen utensil ever created? What I am talking about? Cooking chopsticks – long wooden chopsticks that have completely transformed my way of cooking and have me enjoy my time in the kitchen like
Children are really celebrated in Japan, a dear friend in Sweden pointed out when I explained about the 100 day celebration for our son. I felt it was a very accurate statement, and I found myself noticing that I had not thought about it myself for a long time – perhaps I have already been
Last week I was asked by the local newspaper Smålänningen from my hometown in Sweden if I was interested in a story about this blog, and much to my surprise I did not even hesitate before I said yes please. Old me would have tried to convince myself that it was a bad idea, that
Raking leaves is really the only thing I do not like about autumn. When living in Sweden, raking leaves on a big lawn every fall was my least favourite chore. I found it boring, tedious, a necessary evil that had to be done before being able to enjoy the clean beauty of winter. So raking