Happy Birthday, Travis!

Are you ready for some football?

Now that it is autumn, it is time for FOOTBALL! We don’t get much football here… American football, that is. We now have a Sunday ritual that helps us get our football fix: nearly every Sunday after we return from church and have lunch, we crawl into bed and watch the ESPN college football highlights on our computer (I usually fall asleep before the highlights are over, but isn’t that what you are supposed to do… fall asleep watching football?). Later in the evening our local Danish television channel airs two pro-football games.

And we often get to watch the Dallas Cowboys!!!

We love to watch, in part, because the Danish commentators are hilarious. And, because they have to “fill” all the time normally used for commercials, we get to see the commentators a lot.

And, just in case you were wondering, yes, they eat (and occasionally choke) on the popcorn!

As I watch the football game and realize I now understand a bit more of the commentators’ dialogue, I recall the joy I had when we discovered the football program last year – a little something to ease my homesick heart. But, now, a year later, I don’t feel joy as much as I feel comfort – our old friends are back. And, I don’t need them to remind me of what I am missing at home… they now remind me that I am home. Great to see you guys! Enjoy the popcorn.

Happy Autumn!

Welcome to Autumn! We are a day or two late, but that’s okay. Tuesday morning I woke up knowing that this was going to be the last day this year that there would be more hours of daylight than darkness… the darkness is coming! Okay, so that may be a bit dramatic, but trust me, it gets dark here in the winter.

In the mean time, we are doing everything we can to enjoy autumn. The weather is cooler: you definitely need a jacket and maybe even a scarf and gloves. The leaves are turning and the color is beautiful. School is in full swing and there is an abundance of apples in the markets! And, speaking of markets, we are trying something new this autumn… we signed up to have produce delivered to our flat once a week.

And, this isn’t any old produce. This is produce from Aarstiderne (“seasons” in Danish), an all organic farm here in Denmark. Once a week they deliver a box of food to our door.

They have a lot of different types of “boxes” – we ordered the basic box. You can get the “adventurous box” that specializes in traditional Danish veggies, or boxes with fruit (from fair-trade and organic partner farmers in tropical locations), grain (from organic bakers), and meat (all hormone-free, free-range, etc.).

For now we will stick with the basic box, but we may add fruit this winter (we currently get local fruit from our market). I like this program for several reasons: First, we support a great organization that supplies organic produce to local communities and farms in environmentally friendly ways. Second, because we don’t pick what comes in the box each week, we are motivated to learn how to cook and try new veggies. This is what came in our box this week.

That is celery root in the back – very common and popular her in Denmark.

Finally, I love the idea that someone else has to carry the produce up our three flights of stairs!

So, regardless of what you are eating or how warm your weather,

Happy Autumn!