The trip up north - woodstock, long lake, montreal - my longest post to date

We took the train from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie, rented a car and went up to Woodstock to meet up with our friends Anker & Monica who had generously hosted Joel for close to a week. Went to dinner at Deer Mountain in, then slept a night here

The house Anker & Monica rented. That's a sauna and hot tub to the right. 

When night fell, there were stars. So many stars. 

Anders and Niki at Deer Mountain Inn

Joel & Jonas. 

With two kids in the car, we ventured up north to get the third back from Long Lake camp in upstate New York

The child

The camp grounds

The daughters

One of the many small cabins where the kids at camp get individual lessons in singing, playing instruments etc.

That's my husband out there. At parents weekend. It was very relaxed. And relaxing.

Then slept a night at a hotel in where the staff seemed to have jumped out of a Cohen brothers movie - one employee was missing his right arm while the other was very very fit, like Brad Pitt in burn after reading. 

Picked Vanja up and headed for Canada. 

Here's Anders and Niki on the Montreal subway.

I liked the Canadian street crossing signs.

And loved this bookstore - Drawn & Quarterly

Met a native Montrealean

Enjoyed the color of Montreal 

Passed a church festival

went to the Insectarium

Went to the biodome - which was originally built for 1976 winter olympics

Marveled at biodome

Then went glamping

Before heading back home to NYC

Add more sugar

I've got one foot in each city

The proper way to eat eggs

is apparently out of a martini glass. As served at Cafe Sabarsky. Beautiful salting hand belongs to my friend Jenny.

All the world is a stage

The Swedish minister of culture and democracy officially approves of my new book

Om en' är intresserad av vad olika typer av investeringar kan ge så är barns och ungas läsförmåga något att engagera sig i. Om så bara en liten stund tillsammans då och då, är utdelningen fenomenal. Läsförmågan påverkar det mesta. Anne-Marie Körling är Sveriges läsambassadör. På hennes hemsida, (www.lasambassadoren.se) finns mängder av tips, inspiration och fakta om läsning. Dessutom finns det många nya, alldeles utmärkta barn och ungdomsböcker, den nya boken om Nina är ett exempel. #svpol #lasambassadoren #helasverigeläser #emiguner #lokakanarp #ninabörjarskolan @rabensjogren SYNTOLKNING; på en farstukvist med unge mellan bena och boken "Nina börjar skolan" i händerna.

A photo posted by Alice Bah Kuhnke (@alicebahkuhnke) on Aug 23, 2016 at 8:31am PDT

Alice is a remarkable individual. Love her.

My third book is just out!

My third book just came out. It's only available in Swedish and it's about Nina, a girl just starting school. It's also about Nina's family, about a small thief living in their kitchen, about trouble with friends and fun with friends and all kinds of stuff that people aged 4 and up can relate to.

If you read Swedish or see this book as your doorway into our fascinating language, 

get your book here:

http://www.bokus.com/bok/9789129699227/nina-borjar-skolan/

I love meeting my readers. 

PS. Yes! This is indeed the Ferragamo dress bought thanks to a cancelled flight.

I love a good aquarium with a view

Had never been to Aquaria before. We really liked it.

dads on duty

sitting with sharks 

Next week, we're going to CANADA!!!

You have any advice on what we must see and do in Montreal, hit me!!

My baby

Miss this young woman like CRAZY. 

Vanja called from camp the other day, sounding all happy. 

She's taken up running and is learning to read sheet music, dancing and making new friends. 

She's also started teasing me, in a manner that's very to the point but kind and funny. 

Weird how she's grown so fast, this was yesterday, I swear. 

and yes, Joel has grown too. 

Good thing the twins are still quite young:

Then and now

Niki with her BFF Nora

holding on for 8 years and counting

What happened at the outlet

So I was in Italy with a bunch of friends and their kids. Our friends love outlets, I love an outing. So I came with on an outlet outing.

With limited funds and a clumsy disposition, expensive clothes are kind of never a good idea for me. But then Vanja fell head over heels in love with a pair of Stella McCartney jeans and I found a yellow Ferragamo dress.

I told Vanja: We're not buying any of this, we can't afford it and we're too clumsy.

But then I checked my e-mail and there was a mail saying I would get a refund for the ticket I bought when the airline cancelled my flight a few hours prior to departure and offered me a new one two full days later. Would not have been a big issue except for the fact that my dad was so very, very ill at the time.

NOW THE AIRLINE HAD TO PAY UP, BECAUSE THEY WERE IN THE WRONG.
the amount was almost exactly equal to the sum of jeans and dress.

and so it happened that half a year later, at least something good came out of a horrible day.

I SAID YES TO THE DRESS. And to Vanja's jeans. Here's me in dress at the bookrelease of my third kid book.

I love Florence

Stumbled across a French wedding party, vive les mariés!

If you get married in Italy, naturally, your wedding car is a white Fiat 500. 

The wedding party was very, very posh. Their level of grooming was way out of our league. They all looked like they'd stepped out of a movie.

Then watched the serious business of concerned Gucci employees move shoes a few millimeters to the left. I love the little window behind the window for this purpose.

Envied a lone kayaker. Florence is a beautiful city but Arno? Not so struck. 

Niki at the lovely hotel Albion.

Rivaling photobomb styles

Old, slow and grumpy 

Or young, fast and happy

What all the mornings looked like

I love our Swedish minister of culture

Inspired by her note to self.
Alice is a great, warm force for good.

Cathy, this is for you!

How I've felt post-birth all three times. All good, now could I just relax and read for a little bit? Animals can tend to the newborn while the baby father can praise me.