When life gives you lemons

I just want to say a very big THANK YOU for giving me the space to write the last post 'Jeg bor i Danmark'. It was not an easy article to write. I hear it was not an easy article to read. I suspect that if you are a regular reader you may have been somewhat surprised by the baring of the soul confessional so soon after how to make sea salt and chocolate popcorn!

Perhaps you could take a moment to read an article written by a friend of mine at Wine and Cheese Doodles. She has put into words all I was trying to say, only better.

Thank you for sharing your own thoughts on the subject of life as an expat spouse, especially those of you who have been in the same place for a while. It was so worth writing the piece in order to hear the hidden wisdom of others. Your words will be my bedrock as I step into a new and very exciting era of self employment in Denmark so thank you for taking the time to get in touch.

The sun has returned from it's hibernation and the children are laughing in the garden. Life continues and what a privileged life it is....I still have an unhealthy obsession with sea salt chocolate popcorn but it was good to mix in a little sour too, for now the chocolate will taste all the sweeter.

Jeg bor i Danmark

I thought I would have departed by now from these chilly Danish soils. I thought when I said "okay, it's your career, it's for three years, lets have an adventure", that I had signed up for a three year stint in Denmark. I thought there would be regular trips home and an end game in sight. I thought after two and a half years the conversations would start to be about where to go next. Like they are for nearly everybody else whom I have seen come and go.

Those conversations did start, in actual fact they have never finished.

If not every week but most definitely every month my husband and I have spoken about where in the world we have/want/wish/need to live. We are after all, two years beyond our original agreement. It can be a conversation fraught with emotion as we both have differing opinions on what's best for our family or our career(s). We came close last month, very close indeed.

The conversation that started as a 'maybe, what if' turned into discussions with teachers about moving strategies for the children. It turned into appointments with our doctor about treatments ending in time and her disapproval at uprooting the boys from all they know. The children were asked how they would feel about trying someplace new, where we could live a different life. They resisted and then came to love the idea. We all looked forward to a change. I felt lighter just knowing my time in Denmark would soon be at its end. There would literally be sun light at the end of the tunnel.

Please don't misunderstand my sentiments, Denmark is a remarkable place to bring up a family. It is very hard to decide to leave such a fantastic country. One that has been the backdrop of five years at home with my boys. We live next door to two large forests, in which we go biking, cross country skiing, fruit foraging and sword fighting. Drive ten minutes and we are at the seaside. We love the days after school where we pack up our mini grill and some hotdogs and we can just simply play in the water and eat our supper on the beach. I love too that there isn't an over abundance of goods here, we cook everything from scratch and on a seasonal basis. It feels very in touch. But it is not 'home' and the longer we stay, the harder it gets to leave. Yet leave we must at some point, that is the rule.

It gets harder and harder to be the one that always stay's. Just ask my children that. Last summer when they had waved off their best friends of three years to begin a new adventure in a new country the dam burst on their tears and the sobs broke my heart.

For now the conversation has ended, I accept that stay we must. I am no longer waiting to go home in order to resume my career. I will learn to speak Danish fluently. I will make every effort to live as full a life as I can. I will enjoy the friends that are here and I will take trips around the world to see the friends that have left, I will try not to feel lonely in their absence. I will be happy. I am not waiting to leave anymore. I will live in the moment. This is not my husband's job, it is my life and I am in charge.


(By request this post has been edited from it's original version)

Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Popcorn

I don't normally post recipes on iScandineighbour but this dark chocolate and sea salt popcorn was so delicious and so incredibly easy I had to share it with you. 

Heat three table spoons of neutral oil in a deep based pan.

Pour in a large handful of un popped corn kernels, put the lid on, a have a shake.

I like to keep the corn fairly mobile when it cooks to avoid burning any on the bottom of the pain as the heat starts to build so I shake the pan frequently to loosen the bottom.

Meanwhile melt some 70% dark chocolate, gently, in which ever way suits you best. I do mine in a small pan on a very low heat.

Turn out the now popped corn onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Pour over the melted chocolate in as even as distribution as possible.

Finally sprinkle just crushed flakes of pure sea salt over the popcorn and leave to set.

I challenge you not to eat it all in one sitting.

Felted, furry, friends

After Christmas had passed and we were feeling slightly more healthy I ventured out into Copenhagen to get some fresh air and stretch my legs a little. In one shop I saw some beautiful Christmas decorations made of felt, all reduced due to physical ailments but inspirational non the less. I bought a pack of tiny little snowmen to add to our box of decorations for next year. I put the idea of trying to make my own on my 'must try one day soon' mental list and set about researching needle felting in closer detail.

A few weeks ago whilst perusing Pinterest for ideas, I saw a dog, it happened to be crafted from needle felt and made to look like it's real life self. I immediately emailed my husband and suggested we order two as a gift for his father and his father's girlfriend. "Hmmm" came the reply, "they are a bit expensive" followed by the highly annoying, frequently used, rhetorical question "don't you think?". Well, yes I did think so but better that they are expensive and accurate, after all, it's no good paying less for a dog and ending up with a dog's dinner.

I ordered a starter kit of felt and various colors to practice with, harbouring the optimistic idea that eventually I could make some passable Christmas decorations as a gift. The package duly arrived from the UK and I opened it up with curiosity, I had no idea how easy or otherwise it would be to felt having never tried it before. As this is my year of creativity I got straight to work, not giving myself time to doubt my abilities.

What a revelation, I can't remember the last time I loved something quite so instantly, my children aside. Within an hour I had made two snowmen, both of which will now live forever more on our Christmas tree. The children were excited too, they all wanted a turn with some felt and a needle so I let them have a try. You need a certain awareness so as not to stab yourself in the finger with the teeny tiny, sharp as lightening needle and it doesn't really come the first time you try. Our fingers are testament to that. Concentration and care become your best friend and after a while the boys became totally quiet, aside from the scratch scratch scratching of their needle going into their felt. They produced an apple and a strawberry on their first attempt and also caught the felting bug. Their next project is to create a little mouse to trick their Pappa with... they are boys after all.

I am not one to sit back once I have all the tools I need to get going on an idea and the bags of black wool were just teasing me from the depths of my art cupboard. It was time to try creating the dogs. There followed a very pleasant Sunday afternoon, I sat on the carpet next to the three year old who was playing cars and felted. It took some time but time was on my side thanks to the weather and the family happily engaged in their own pursuits.

Dog number one I finished that day in a three hour sitting, dog number two I made over the course of two evenings a little later in the week. I think they look like younger versions of their older selves but we all think the personalities of each dog comes through, the elder dog always loved chewing on his toys so he is lying down cuddling a turtle toy. My little versions now live with my Father in Law and his girlfriend up in Norway who both seemed to love the little creations. I am thrilled I gave them a try and so predictably is my husband although for slightly different reasons!

Order number two is sitting in the basket on the felting website, roving wool is really not very expensive. I would say the dogs cost about 100kr each and they are covered in 100% merino wool so they feel very soft. I want to try and make a hairband next, I have an idea, I just need wool. Plus, there is that little brown mouse to make for Pappa too...

I ordered my felting supplies from Cotton Patch and they were great quality, very quick delivery and excellent value.