i have a lot to tell you. gobs of things. jillions. it will take hours and hours to tell you. maybe days. pull up a chair, a cat, a bowl of strawberries, a cup of tea.
i arrived home on wednesday and immediately flew into a blur of motion and efficient activity. i finally conquered that mother truckin’ CLOUD and figured out how to move my photos from iphone to computer in nanoseconds. i swiftly caught up on email and online banking and finished my travel journal and watched every single RNC & DNC speech. i went grocery shopping, made pies and fluffy swedish cakes. i visited neighbors with baskets lined with blue & white flowered tea towels and perfect little mounds of princess cakes topped with flower petals and sprigs of freshly picked mint. i caught up on all of my utterly banal taped television shows, read 3 books a friend sent me, walked at all my favorite parks, cleaned house, and took naps.
my return home was exactly like that. except the opposite.
i’m actually moving in slow motion. my mind is somewhere out in the swedish archipelago lolling about in a rowboat.
oh friends, sweden was divine. lush & sweet just the way i left it last summer. only warmer & sunnier. our apartment was bright and breezy. set high above the treetops of an old neighborhood with wooden houses (first video below). at night we went for walks to various near-by overlooks to stare out at the glassy water surrounding stockholm’s 14 islands.
i relied on my trusty iphone for photos, although some of the distant shots, like the one above are grainy. since it was my 2nd visit to sweden, and since my sister was taking her big camera i decided against bringing mine. it was kind of nice not to have the added weight during our daily walkabouts.
i’ve decided it’s a really good idea to visit a place more than once. i saw many new things i missed last summer. if you like gardens, acres of green national parkland, amazing cakes & coffee, delicious meals, reliable efficient public transportation, scandinavian design, cool shops, ferries & old steamships, hundreds of archipelago islands to explore, really nice people, loads of interesting scenic neighborhoods & architecture, and day-trips galore. seriously. get your tuchus to stockholm!
i have half a dozen more trips to sweden planned in my mind. i want to rent a little red cottage on an island one summer and walk in the woods every morning, swim in the sea sunrise & sunset, bake bread, pick flowers, and draw everything i see.
i want to take a train the entire length of sweden, stopping at small villages along the way.
i didn’t blog this trip which felt strange, but i did post on facebook via instagram & youtube. loved reading your comments there while I was gone. as for my travel journal, i’m 5 pages shy of being completely finished!
i made 4 videos and have a few more to upload. you may have already seen them on my youtube channel or facebook, but if not and you’re interested here ya go:
and finally, here’s a piece of cake for you…
i have more photos and of course my entire travel journal to share. which i’ll be doing right here. i’ve missed blogging.
how’ve you been? any summer adventures i need to know about? spill this instant.
okay…
over and out from moss cottage. where all the women are smart. all the cats are good lookin’ and all the ideas are above average. or somethin’ like that! see you soon! xo
Oh Mary Ann you had me laughing because you totally fooled me. I kept saying wow can she not sleep because of jet lag or is she still high ‘on Sweden” or??? I even thought wow I wish i could muster up the energy to pick up the dirty socks i left on the living room floor last night……..loved it.
So happy you had such a wonderful trip to Sweden. I always love visiting your blog.
Taking full care of my Mom leaves me not a lot of free time but am getting some house/yard projects done.
What a splendid journey to Sweden!!!! Lovely homes and cobbled streets, lush gardens, great food, what more could one ask for. Is all of Stockholm as clean and tidy as it looks in your videos and photos? Are there no homeless people, urban blight? So many of the sights that mar our urban areas. I would love it if that was the case, no uglies.
You sisters had a grand trip, thanks for the videos and your steady hand panning the seascapes and gardens. Loved all the peeks at the charming homes & gardens.
I just popped over here from your sister’s blog…holy cow, gastronomic heaven. You two did your stomachs proud! Way to go. Oh, and I loved the cake. Thanks for sharing.
everyday i check on this site for your newest travel sketchbook reveal. How awesome that you share with us your trip to Sweden. thanks!
I cannot wait to visit Sweden, as I am Swedish. Saving money for it now!! Must go in the summer if at all possible!! love your videos and your post. I ahve benn away on Cape Cod , my home town and had a very very hard time leaving. It was as if I was seeing it and experiencing it for the first time. No family stress or drama- could do whatever I wnated whenever i wanted. and was never asked = what’s for dinner. Having a really hard time being back in sticky Virginia let me tell you. I guess that I ahve to adjust- but plans are brewing for more trips home soon!!
Cant wait to see your journal. I am working on my trip journal as well!!
Big Hugs!
Enchanting! Just enchanting! Although you had me a little terrified in the beginning with the (fake) done-did list. It’s good to ease back into things, and I’m so very happy you and Carol had a lovely trip and are back safe. The cake was delicious.
Hej Hej!!!! Sweden!!! I know! I lived there for four years and it is in me, to say the least! What have I been doing? Traveling in my tin can all over Maine and Wisconsin, getting ready for the release of my second record!!!!WooHoo!!It’s done! Had a song on WXRT (a very popular radio station here in Chicago) last night! Getting ready to leave on our big adventure west in one of the campers starting in September! Miss you!!!! Will definitely be in California in October/Nov…
https://youtu.be/sOT8FBTOQsU
Miss YOU!!!!!!
Natalie
if your tin can fits in my driveway & is narrow enough you can park it there if need be!
you & wendy’s vows (saw the video of marriage which came up after music video…) MOVED me. sniff sniff.
still thinking of our lunch days at esperanza when you’d play me your latests song.
who loves ya baby?!
xoxoxo
We leave for Oregon tomorrow morning, and you continue to inspire me, thank you. Can’t wait to see your travel journal, and I’ve bumped up Sweden on my list of places to see!
Mary Ann,
It all looks so relaxing and beautiful. I love the pics of the apartment with all the open windows. (We are sweltering here in Houston – HATE IT!!!) It looks just lovely. I love that you unplugged so much but, oh my goodness I missed your blog!! So glad to hear that Wyatt has completely recovered and that all is well at Moss Cottage. I joined you in OMG!!! but haven’t really gotten going since I realized that I never completed Sketchbookery, whereupon I’ve gone back and I really am sketching and painting!!! Wheee!!! Such fun!!!
Can’t wait to see your travel journal!!!
Susan
All beautiful, always Mary Ann. I love seeing and hearing all about your delightful escapades around the globe. Some day I might just get a real life glimpse but until then I gonna enjoy every morsel and crumb you share. 🙂
I loved all your pictures, videos and comments!! Felt like I was traveling with you!! My paternal grandfather was from Sweden and my maternal grandparents were from Norway. I travelled to the Scandinavian countries years ago when I was in high school…I hope to go back some day!! Thank you for sharing!!
Good you are home after a great vacation, and good to read Wyatt recovered well! I’m looking forward to your traveljournal and stories about Sweden.
all so lovely and beautiful…thank you..and i gotta’ say this…you are a better person than me to make it through watching both conventions! oy!
Like Karen, you had me going till the bit about watching all the convention speeches! Thanks for all the lovely photos and videos – Sweden should put you on as a tourism correspondent! Looking forward to peeks into your journal. Glad Wyatt is doing well! And I hope it’s not too smoky where you are.
I spent one beautiful day in Sweden 2 years ago and am dreaming of going back. Thanks for sharing your trip. I really enjoy your blog, videos & love your classes!!
Still in Iceland. Trekking about. Hom tomorrow. Hopefully later this week I will have photos to show. An amazing place. Loved yoursweden photos. Can’t wait to see more. Hugs erika
i flew over the arctic ocean/greenland and took the most amazing photos of snowy landscape. i look so forward to seeing your pics and reading all about your trip!!
Wow! I just watched all of your videos. Your trip looked perfect. I can’t wait to hear and read more. Thank you!
Glad to have you back! You have been missed?
Loved (LOVED) thinking of you and Sister together in Stockholm. The videos and Instagram photos were savored. Eagerly awaiting your journal showing. I so much enjoy traveling with you. I’m happy it was all you wished, and maybe a bit more. Welcome home!
XO
Welcome home. I love your blog and have enjoyed your videos on YouTube . Thank you for being so generous with your life. You rock MAM!!!
Boy, you really had me going there, up until the part where you said you watched all of the speeches of both conventions, and I thought, NO ONE would do that! That’s just sick and it’s wrong. Teehee! So glad to have you back! So glad to see you blogging again too! But that’s just me being selfish. Thanks for sharing the beauty with us. No adventures here, unless you can count taking your teenage granddaughter birthday (16) shopping. Otherwise just here being regular. Okay, now I HAVE to see what treasures you brought back. I know of at least a little bird….
Welcome home, Mary Ann!!
Welcome home! Thanks for the wonderful trip to lovely Sverige!
Breathtaking images!!! Thanks so much for sharing them with us ~
Can’t wait to see/hear more!!
You fuel my desire to go to Sweden, especially the videos. I want to go and take weaving lessons. Traditional Swedish weaving. sigh.
Switching back to LA – how’s Wyatt? Is he speaking to you?
linda,
sweden is refreshing & lovely. wyatt is doing great! scar/stitches gone..looking handsome as ever. corky the missus is also in fine form 🙂
Good to hear they are both fine. okay, back to looking at Swedish weaving books alternated with your videos.
Oh…thank you…what a wonderful virtual visit to Sweden…I love your videos..so peaceful and beautiful…I don’t know if I will ever get to visit Sweden but I have thoroughly enjoyed these videos.
ahhh thanks again and again for the trip.
I was like, ‘oh my gosh you read them already!?’…ha ha ha…glad to know you’re back! Thanks for taking all of us along for the ride! xoxo
i am speed reading current book so i can dive into your stack. THANK YOU!!!
i need a list of good books! i get lost in all the choices…
Really enjoyed your Sweden videos – watched them as you posted – felt as if I was along for your ride – so thanks for sharing! My Mom’s parents were from Sweden so I want to visit there at some point, you made it look very inviting!
So glad you had a good time! Thanks for giving us a peek at such a beautiful country.
I’m plotting a return to Norway. Instead of satiating me, my trip this summer left me wanting more. Teachers go back to school on Tuesday in my district. My little touches of Norway are in my room reminding me to keep to my goals.
you went for over a month right? tell me where again…
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I’ve hung on every word and picture enjoying the trip to where Ive never been.
you are so kind and skilled in letting us tag along. Thanks again.
At first I was in awe of your efficiency on returning home, then I started to giggle as you spilled the truth beans. I haven’t seen any of your Youtubes but be assured I will be checking them out. Welcome home.
I want to go to Sweden, thanks for taking me along on your journey in the interim! Also you missed nothing at the RNC!!
ha ha ha ha! no high jinx? we did catch our lovely first lady’s speech in stockholm. so so good. moving.
I love the gentle beauty of Sweden. I haven’t been. All that water, and gorgeous sunlight. I love the roof across from you who forgot to put on the rest of her red makeup. There are so many layers of old and new and values of what is and what was, right there in front of you and your sister. Thank you ever so much for sharing, of course.
Now I need to plan for next summer. And paint!
oh yes…they were painting that roof while we were there. it’s now all brown. the red was primer i guess. it was quite a process and the young strong fellows that did it wore cropped pant overalls. very cute!
You have more fun because of your eyes! You see it amd you share it. Especially good for a staycation summer.