After having breakfast in Rovaniemi, Lapland on Thursday morning we flew to Helsinki and had lunch, then it was off to London where we had fish and chips for dinner. The next morning we had an early flight to Chicago, and ended the first leg of our trip.
It’s bittersweet to be back home. We miss our friends in Finland, but it’s great to see the family and friends that we left here in the States. It was especially fun to see the newest members of our family…
Chessie
And Arri, as in “Arr, I’m a pirate and I only have one eye.” (Kudos to my sister for thinking of such a clever name. Arri was found as a baby kitten only a few weeks old and her eye was so infected that they had to remove the entire thing. It’s healed nicely, and she seems fine without it.)
It’s always strange for us to come back home because nothing has changed, yet we feel like new people after all of the experiences we’ve had while overseas. Nevertheless, it’s great to be back in a place where we don’t have to worry about a miming our way through the grocery store or getting yelled at by gypsies.
The Wild Rose 
I know how you feel about that strange to be back frame of mind. I am thinking you have had it before. I spent some time in India when I was young and fearless and I remember it as a life changing experience.
Your first cousin twice removed,
Fred