snapshots of my life: week 47

only five weeks left in the year. how can that be?

this is what my kitchen looked like when i made this pie.  in the foreground is the pumpkin butter from last weekend!

i'm crazy about this color

the pumpkin mixture got poured into this flash-baked crumb crust

the last remnants of foilage

hang on a little longer

ba ba black sheep

pure fluff

my goal was to get a shot of this creature from the side to capture its wicked horns, but he (she?) wouldn't allow it

one hundred fourteen and still going strong. the car is a nice color/age contrast

sweet

another welcoming front step

love this

is there such a thing as yellow holly?

never knew our town has a russian orthodox church. never noticed their cross.

orthodox cross

am taken with this cross and its meaning

stamina

big apple tart for the grownups and four small for the kids

early thanksgiving dinner at kathryn's. in attendance: k. and poul erik (klara), liz and ole (christian and emma), rotary exchange student and floridian jerry ann, and us.  great food and company.

soooo hard to get a good picture of the kids. CLEARLY. 

emma and klara have had it with the boys and their antics

fun times

alan brought everyone's all time favorite thanksgiving staple: foie gras

what is perhaps the last color of the season

snapshots of my life: week 46

tuesday, 8:05 a.m. sunrise

tuesday, 4:25 p.m. sunset

new poster

these got turned into pumpkin butter

homework time. ruby the red fox is close by to keep anatole company

snapshots of my life: week 45

i met my friend malene for lunch in aarhus on friday. this shop caught my eye.

playing soccer with papi jean pierre

who is going to get to the goal first?

anatole is going for it

they both end up in the goal!

grandpere

a great visit with papi

over the past week jean pierre painstakingly removed wall paper from two thirds of the house.

paper gone. gratitude abounds.

can this house be stripped down any further?!

we will finish what's left of the paper in the bathroom and one of the bedrooms.

snapshots of my life: week 44

the week flew by. no pun intended to picture number one.

anatole's library picks of the week

we made a stained glass hexagon. the danes call this perleplader, which translates to peg board. the board is what holds all the tiny beads and allows one to make different design and color combinations

this is anatole's masterpiece

i went to the grocery store and was struck by the random pair of men's clogs abandoned on a patch of nearby grass

snapshots of my life: week 43

it's hard to tell from the picture, but this maple leaf is gigantic

alan's birthday. we've adopted the danish tradition of putting the national flag out for celebrations. when in rome...

gifts from gaga and buppa!!  they couldn't wait to stuff their mouths with chocolate.

our second annual biking trip on the island of læsø (of salt fame). this is a forest "hut."

no roof mowing necessary

splitting wood the old fashioned way. it's a heck of a lot easier than using an ax. 

the sign warns of flying bees, but there were none.  too late in the season, i suppose.

cheesy grins

there are many small roadside stands all over the island selling everything from wood to homemade jam and yard sale items.  we bought a sack of wood for 20 kroner ($4), chanterelle mushrooms (delicious!), a pair of new, hand-knitted wool socks, fresh parsley, and a book for anatole about underwater sea life

in front of a home decor shop

my little pumpkin

colorful fishing nets

the part of the island where we stayed

this is a child who bikes and talks, bikes and talks, always has something to say, is never at a loss for words

our best attempt at a family photo - in front of the house we rented and happy that the sun was shining (however briefly)

the beach

seafood crates

an art center

roadside scenery

a thinned out forest

the colors were much more impressive in person

he is good at finding projects

a rock and a thumbs up

captivating seaweed

i like the contrast of colors here

tiny little flowers hidden amid lots of tall grass

the name translates to "stone pile."

the island is covered with mushrooms of all shapes, sizes, and colors.  this gem looks straight out of a fairy tale.

of course my boy had to stomp on or drive down every one he came into contact with.

see.  he's going for it.

we had a fun ride on this stretch of beach where the sand was hard enough to easily pedal on

this is for all you nebraska cornhuskers (i know nothing about ne except the name of its college athletic teams)

MY CHAIN IS OFF!!!

the ever-present danish flag

the rental where we stayed. my view from the couch.

alan brought home a lobster and so continues "the second annual tradition of the live lobster." he got it direct from a fishing boat that had just returned with its catch of the day. this was the only lobster, so we were lucky to get it.

anatole just happened to have his plastic toy lobster with him. "lobster, meet lobster."

it's two hours until dinner.  what should we do with him until then?!

anatole was timid to pick the guy up, but once he did he was proud as can be.

read the second set of text.  notice anything?  so continues my series of "english gone wrong."