Following a long cold winter, we decided to welcome summer by going on a three-week nostalgia trip to USA, where we spent time in Washington DC, New Orleans, Montana and Wyoming. The trip reconnected us with many friends that we had not been in touch with since leaving the USA, including people in Tauxemont where we had lived; Per’s dancing group in Maryland and; Julia’s former colleagues at the IMF and World Bank. We visited friends in Fredericksburg and Charlottesville.Thanks to the dinners organized by our dear friend and Tauxemont neighbor, Glenda Booth, and Per’s Nordic Dancers partner, Rolf Thoresen, and his wife, Chris Kalke, we got to meet many friends we had not seen since leaving Washington DC in 2008. The visit was a wonderful way to "cure" our nostalgia and to see new places.

New Orleans, Montana and Wyoming quenched our thirst for what we had missed during our 8-year stint in the USA. We had a great jazz week, followed by a Wild West cruise that took us to the Yellowstone National Park and its ever spectacular Old Faithful geyser. A mingle with bison, bears and antelopes ended with a visit to the Glacier National Park. The weather could not have been better—three weeks of sunshine and high temperatures!

Back home we were greeted by an early summer, which became one of the greatest in all the years we have lived in Sweden—hot and dry. There was very little need to mow the grass as the dandelions had taken over the lawn. Sadly, the long dry summer meant no mushroom picking but our small strawberry patch gave us some harvest!

Our granddaughter, Josefin (Petter and Cecilia’s daughter) graduated from high school. As sayings go, grandchildren are the desserts of life. Josefin did us proud!

While we did not go very far from home throughout the summer, we spent time with friends including the Sigtuna soup gang, sailing with three friends and participating in the annual hay harvesting work at Viby in Sigtuna. Julia gave the annual Sigtuna Stads loppet a shot after many years of not running. As time goes by, our long distance runs have been reduced to social walks.

Per had several photography excursions, in addition to the time he spent with his folk dance group. He engaged in photographing pensioners' activitiies through the a group that he belongs to, PRO. The documentation covered cooking, sewing, minigolf playing, etc. Julia was engaged by the World Bank and went on two missions to Cambodia, in addition to the the IMF engagements to West Africa.

The highlight of the year for both of us was the arrangement of a Botswana-Sweden Friendship Association (BOTSFA) celebration of Botswana's 47th independence in Lyrestad, along the Göta Kanal. The event attracted 110 people, ranging from Swedes who had worked/lived in Botswana from the early 70s to those who had recently returned to Sweden. An exceptional number of Batswana graced the occasion and the entire Batswana staff of the Embassy, under the leadership of Ambassador Lameck K. Nthekela, attended....giving the event a special touch.

As we close this fun-filled year, there are some good news and, as usual, not so good. On the bright side, we are in Botswana for two months (December to January), following a wonderful visit to Cape Town where we celebrated a friend's 70th birthday. We also visited Robben Island. It was very touchy to see the cell where Nelson Mandela spent many years and to receive, a few days later, the sad news about his passing. Greatness beyond our mortal understanding....

A happy and, at the same time, sad development is that, our daughter Anna and her family have moved to Kenya, where Eric will be working with the Ericsson company in Nairobi. This is good news for Eric’s relatives in Kenya, especially for Asali and Amani’s other grandmother, Mama Safi. For us, who were spoilt all these years to have the girls a stone throw from our house, it feels very empty. On the other hand, this gives us the opportunity for at least two places to hibernate from the Swedish winters--Botswana and Kenya

In memory of friends that we lost during 2013 and to the loved ones they left behind, let’s take comfort in the words by an unknown author, “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.”

Wishing You a Happy and Peaceful 2014