h Ohmmmmmm

  I arrived back home yesterday evening and am still fighting off a nasty case of jet lag. It is not natural to be crammed into a teeny seat and forced to sit there for 9 hours at a stretch. Even with the multitude of movies you could watch it is still painful and unpretty... your feet swell and the food is lousy.  Someday I'd love to be bumped into first class just to know how it feels.

  A trip of that many countries in 2 weeks is crazy and exhausting. Everything is moving so fast that you come away not retaining anything you just saw.  I realize it is not the way to experience Europe... far, far too much history to absorb in that short a time span.  Nevertheless, it does give you a wee taste and provides the impetus to return specifically to a country.  I think out of all the places seen, I liked Estonia, Stockholm and Amsterdam the best (in that order).  See what I mean? I never would have even considered Estonia as a place of interest before this, but it was quaint and clean and historic.  Loved it.   Stockholm... well being of Swedish & Norwegian descent and a lover of all things Ikea, I was particularly drawn to it.  I purchased a beautiful sweater and a Viking ship pendant that I wear with pride (see picture) as a salute to my heritage, because the one thing that spoke to me most about this trip was the honoring and preserving of each countries history.  It's like walking into the past; you could almost hear the voices of the people once living there.  Quite trippy... even without the 'herbal' tea from Amsterdam!  hahaa!

I know I'll have more to say on the experience, but for now this is the Coles notes version.  I tried posting this yesterday, but something went screwy with the blog and it wouldn't publish.  Now I shall go and have my wee nap as I work on this jet lag.  Oh, did I mention that I missed my bed BIG time?  I developed kinks in areas I didn't know existed before this trip... but that is but a dim memory for me now that I am home sweet home.  Do svedanya, my lovelies!

Blip

I've been away for awhile... not so much physically, but definitely mentally.  The ability to write something palatable when you've got nothing is a skill I have yet to master. Nevertheless, the longer I put it off, the easier it is to neglect it.  Like anything, writing requires discipline or you get flabby (brain flab... it's a real thing, honest!)  So, here we go.

This is a big week.  We are in smack dab in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoff, and we're on our knees praying for the Canucks to bring it home... finally. I'm not a hockey buff normally, but I don't mind these knuckle biters; much better hockey is being played.  I especially like the Olympic games... great to see the countries who really excel and it is so gratifying as a country to bring home the gold.  Often our country gets overshadowed by our southern neighbours, so it's nice when we can beat them; especially sweet as it makes them crazy!

Besides that, we are continuing our summer of discontent.  Weather keeps us guessing on a daily basis... I'm constantly switching from long pants and sweaters to shorts and flip flops which is probably what's making me uber cranky.  I like consistency and we've got none.  It's funny how weather can affect our countenance and color our lives.  Others have told me they feel the same; this year has been particularly fickle, and though the lack of sun brings discomfort, it is but a small part of the problem.

It's becoming harder and harder to deal with the crisis in the world, and I think people are crushing from the weight of it.  Though we've been through hard times before, this somehow seems different.  Every country in the world seems to be dealing with either the horrors of war, natural disasters, disease, economic collapse, or a combination thereof.  That's why you get assorted people predicting the end of the world... because it almost feels like the end of the world; like there's no other way to fix this outside of rapture.  Maybe we can't rescue ourselves from this mess.  Maybe God is bringing us to our knees in absolute surrender.  I don't know how else to make sense of it and that in itself is unnerving. But that's not all...

We are heading off on our cruise in a week and I can't seem to get my head around it.  People ask if I'm excited, and I pause, not knowing what to say.  I smile and nod my head, hoping that I look sincere, but inside I'm conflicted.  I do have brief moments of anticipation, but there's a huge part of me that feels guilty for doing this.  So many people are without food and clean water and here we go off on a trip that to many must look so superficial and self-indulgent.  It just feels so wasteful somehow.  Is this crazy?  Am I over thinking this?  I keep hoping that once we are en route I will be able to enjoy it for what it is: a great opportunity to see history with my own eyes, right?  (*sigh*  I think I'll visit one of those 'special' cafes in Amsterdam and get good and happy... when in Rome, right?)

See you on the other side...