1996

Merry Christmas
from
Maria, Peter, Lina, Nils
and
Dixie
and a
Happy New Year

1996

Here in Älmhult, Sweden, where the location is approximately LAT 56.5°N, Long 14.2°E, about the same distance north as the middle of Hudson Bay in Canada, we are still waiting for snow (December 10, 1996). Amazing what the gulf stream can do for making this part of the world hospitable. We did, however, have a weekend of snow 2 weeks ago. It lasted a whole 3 days.

Note my navigation skills above, not bad, eh? Well, I recently completed my "Inshore Yachtmaster" course where I learned the basics in marine navigation and boating rules. My cousin Roland and his wife Marie also completed the course and we are all looking forward to part 2 "Coastal Yachtmaster". Soon we can ply all the waters surrounding Sweden and the rest of Europe. All we'll need is a bigger boat.

We had visitors from the USA last summer, Farfar, Farmor, Lars and Beth made it over for several weeks. We had to apologize for the poor weather, but we had a good time nevertheless. We were able to do some water-skiing and barbecuing, too bad they couldn't be here in August, when the weather was gorgeous. See the family reunion photo.

Maria has continued to utilize the hunting skills she learned from her hunting course and years of helping her father and brothers hunt in Jämtland. The first year we came back to Sweden, she took a hunters course and was certified for hunting . That is no small accomplishment, 9 months of classes (3 hrs/week) and then a written and practical test. The Swedes do their utmost to weed out all but the serious hunters! Anyway, Maria bagged her second älg (euro-moose) this past September, an 8-pointer! Anyway, that put about 45 kilos of moosemeat in the freezer and I can assure you, it's delicious. Check out the picture of this year's älg.

Maria is also working on completing the Swedish Women's Classic. It consists of 30km of the Vasaloppet (cross-country skiing), 90km of Vätternrunt (biking), 1km of Vansbrosimmet (swimming in a very cold river) and 10km Lidingö Tjejloppet (running race). She needs to complete all 4 parts in one year. She missed the biking last year, so she'll be doing the Vasaloppet again (she'd do it anyway). It would be nice to get some snow so she could practice her skiing... Maria is also quite active in orienteering, coaching Nils as he gets the hang of it.

Nils is now 11 years old and growing. That boy can put away the moosemeat! He's recently started in the Boy Scouts and is active in orienteering. This is no easy sport, but Nils has got the hang of it, must be his coach. Anyway, Nils competed the entire last season and came in 4th place for the club in his age class. Orienteering starts again in the spring and Nils will see if he can't run even more clever next year. Nils was active in hockey last year, but hung up the skates this winter. We'll wait and see if that urge returns...

Lina is now 7 years old and started first grade this year (they start a year later over here). It's amazing how fast she's learned to read and write. She is even attempting to get a pen-pal right now. As for sports, the school sponsors a sports clinic each Wednesday. They get a chance to try every sport, from dancing to hockey. The clinic goes for 2 years during the school year and is an excellent idea to wake interest. Lina and Nils also got a hamster this fall, named Dino. Check out the Christmas picture of Lina and Nils.

Dixie doesn't have much to report, just the usual, it's a dog's life...

Well, we hope this brings you up to date. Don't be shy now, we'd love to hear some news from you. Just click this link and send us a note.

From all of us to all of you...

Love,
Maria, Peter, Lina and Nils