Category Archives: Personal

Barn Sour

DSC_1547.JPG Most of my experience with horses was with a horse named Shiloh that my grandfather had when I was a kid. Shiloh was barn sour, which basically meant that she wasn’t ridden very often and had grown to detest the idea. She wanted nothing but to stay in the barn.

To ride her you first had to catch her, which wasn’t easy even though she didn’t have anywhere to run. She knew what it meant when anyone showed up and took a bridle off the barn wall and she’d make it as hard as she could. Even after I’d caught her she’d jerk her head to the side and try to keep her mouth closed to keep that bridle bit from going in. Read More →

Ellen meets the family

The highlight of this vacation has definitely been introducing Ellen to all the family members that she hasn’t yet met, like her great grandparents. Connie organized a get-together this weekend so we’d have everyone in the same place, which is where many of these pictures are from.

Ellen with her great-grandmother, Velma Coppock Ellen with her great-grandfather, Stanley Coppock

It’s  a good thing that she’s pretty flexible about who holds her, because she’s been passed around a lot in the last three weeks, and it’s a good thing that she likes the spotlight, because she’s been the center of attention most of the time.

Ellen gets a walking lesson from her uncle Ben Ellen with Auntie Heather Mom and Lisbeth with Ellen, Cora, and ClaireEllen with her second cousin Cora Sarah and Lisbeth show off Cora and Ellen The dads: Karrie with Claire, Troy with Cora, and me with Ellen

The downside, however, is that she’s gotten accustomed to the attention, and she thinks it’s incredibly dull to have only the stale affections of her parents. We’re expecting her to be pretty unhappy when we get back to Denmark later this week.

Ellen with my cousin Rachel Grandma and grandpa with their great-grandchildren Sarah supervises playtime with Cora and EllenEllen with aunt Connie Ellen with her cousins Carly and Celina Ellen and her uncle Diego

Before this trip, the only members of my family that had met Ellen were mom and dad because they visited us in Denmark in May. Before they left, mom lamented that Ellen wouldn’t remember her. Sure enough, Ellen had to warm up to her again, but it didn’t take long.

Ellen and 'Pampah' Ellen with 'Bon-bon' Ellen and Lisbeth clown around

Eight time zones, three weeks

We’ve been in New Mexico for two days. The jet-lag is starting to wear off, but it’s still not easy to stay awake during the day or asleep at night. Ellen, much to our relief, made the trip with very little fuss, but it’s a lot to ask of anyone, much less a seven month old. Luckily Lisbeth secured an infant bed on the long flight, and that helped a great deal.

Ellen, on the flight from Copenhagen to Washington D.C. Across the Atlantic Ellen was good -- very good. But she was not as good as the little Swedish girl next to us, who didn't make a sound the entire time. Ellen studies her rival on the flight to Washington D.C.

It’s pretty strange to be on this side of things. For years I’ve been flying and I’ve been not infrequently annoyed by screaming babies on board. I think I was under the impression that the parents could do more to quiet the baby. But that’s silly. No one wants the baby to be quiet more than the parents, but there’s only so much you can do.

We traveled with Lisbeth’s parents, who joined us both to see where their son-in-law grew up, but also to visit the US, which they’ve never done. It really helped to have them on the plane because when we got tired we could hand Ellen off to them and get a little rest.

Jet-lagged and hungry, freshly arrived in Albuquerque Getting ready to go get on the tram On the tram

On Sunday, after introducing Ellen to my brother Ben and his wife Heather, we all went up to Sandia crest on the tram. Despite the fact that I grew up in New Mexico, I’d never been on the tram. It’s yet another example of things that tourists do and locals don’t. It was a pleasant surprise.

The tram from the top The Sandia Tram At Sandia crest Albuquerque, from Sandia crest Albuquerque, from Sandia crest Ben savors the adrenaline rush of becoming an uncle. For the fourth time. Seven months ago.

Ellen at six months

It’s hard to believe that we’ve had Ellen for six months. It seems like a lot longer.

Yet another picture she'll hate when she's older DSC_9070.JPG Waiting for breakfast

She still keeps us busy, but less so now that she can sit up and play with toys for long stretches at a time.

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On the other hand she’s eating more and more solid food (probably more than half of her intake is solid at this point) and that requires more preparation and more cleanup.

Sometimes it's just easier to sleep with a mirror over your face DSC_9349.jpg Ellen with Karin (

But overall things are smooth. Except for bathtime, which she hates for some reason.

My genetics, defeated

Five months old Ellen is five months old. For the first four months, there was no question who she took after. Virtually everyone remarked how she had my coloring, my eyes, and so on. But recently that has all changed. Her original dark hair is rapidly being replaced with blond hair, and her eyes seem more and more like Lisbeth’s.

The change has been pretty dramatic. I’d grown accustomed to having her look something like I did when I was her age, but suddenly people that see her say things like, “Oh, she look so much like her mother.” I had a good four months, but it seems that my reign of genetic dominance is over.

17.5 hours of daylight

June 21st was the longest day of year, which in Copenhagen means sunrise was at 4:25 AM and sunset was at 9:58 PM. It’s a great time of year (but a bit confusing when you wake up in the middle of the night and have no idea what time it is.)

At Saint Hans: 9:11 pm DSC_7746.JPG The Saint Has bonfire (9:15 pm)

On the 23rd, Danes celebrate Sankt Hans (Saint John), an ancient summer tradition. The idea is essentially to drive away evil spirits. Apparently in the 1920s the evil was personified as a witch that is banished to the mountains of Germany by the fire.  (It’s not uncommon for the bonfires to have simple witch effigies on top.)

Noah Pia

This year we were invited to a Sankt Hans in Hellerup by our friends Pia and Søren (I got a picture of Noah, their 8 month old, but not Søren). It was really nice, especially in contrast to our first Sankt Hans together, when the wood for the bonfire was so wet that it wouldn’t burn. We were at a huge park in town with hundreds of people, and after an hour or so, they tried silly things like thowing in plastic bottles.

The sea near Dragør (10:03 pm) Trees near Søvang (10:26 pm) A farm near Søvang (10:34 pm)

But Sankt Hans is just one evening. It is one of the longest, but there are plenty of long, long days this time of year. Days when I can head out for a bike ride at 9:00 PM and it doesn’t get dark before I get back.

The view from our bedroom (12:49 am)Days when we can sit on a couch out on our terrace and watch the light slowly fade. Days when I have plenty of opportunities to grab my camera and catch that very late afternoon light that I like so much.

Baby teeth and moving boxes

I don’t know when I’ll learn. Every time, when I consider moving, I think Oh sure, no problem — I’ll just load this and that — and the couch of course — and that’ll pretty much be the worst of it. And every time I’m shocked by how much work it is.

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So we’re not done yet but we’re exhausted. The new apartment is full of unpacked boxes, and we don’t quite know where anything is. But that’s not stopping us from enjoying the new apartment. That’s the best part of moving — setting up shop in a new environment.

But the move, along with the fact that work is as busy as ever, keeps me from posting entries here has often as I’d like. And so this is just a quick update, and some pictures that I’ve taken recently when I take the scenic way home after work.

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And of course there’s Ellen, who keeps us busy too. She turned four months old on the 16th, and she’s as energetic and curious about the world as ever. She has two teeth coming in, but hasn’t shown any sign that they bother her.

We're reckless pram drivers, so Ellen has to hold on tight Four months old and, if you look closely, you can see two teeth coming in

Dåben

On Saturday, May 30th, we had Ellen baptized at Christians Kirke, just down the street from our old apartment. She behaved really well, even smiling at the priest during her prayer (so much so that I think the priest almost forgot what she was saying.)

Ellen didn't make a noise -- they must warm the water The priest returns Ellen's smile

It was interesting because both Lisbeth and I got pretty nervous before the service, but not because Ellen was getting baptized. This was more like post-traumatic stress. (This is, after all, the second time that I’ve gone into a church and said “ja” (yes) to a priest who asked me multiple questions in a language I really struggle to understand.) I think we were both nervous because it sort of felt like we were getting married all over again. Read More →

Change of Address

Home for the last three years

Since I moved out of my parent’s house, I’ve moved around quite a bit. The longest I’ve stayed in the same place was my house in North Bend, outside Seattle, where I lived for five years. The second longest stay has been my apartment in Christianshavn, where I’ve lived since April, 2006, shortly after moving here. For most of that time I had the place to myself. Lisbeth moved in with me in March of last year, and then Ellen joined us in Febrary of this year. And although we could certainly have continued to live there, space was getting a bit tight.

The new building

This weekend we moved to a very new (and less central) apartment. The new neighborhood is called Ørestad, which I wrote about over two years ago here. Back then I thought it was the last place I’d find myself living, but… a lot has changed. Read More →

Ten Weeks

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