The Vasa launched with great fanfare on 10 August 1628. With a ship crowded with crew and visitors it sailed past waterfronts crammed with ordinary people, royals, and visiting dignitaries, gun ports open for a triumphant salvo as it departed Stockholm. And then it fell over and sank.
I’m in Europe! Starting with Sweden! I cut down on flying except for family back in 2018 due to climate change, so I never thought I’d make it to Europe. The original impetus for my visit is not a happy one, but I’m making joy out of tragedy. I’m also making the most out of the long flight across the world, and getting a nice detailed look at four spots in four countries as long as I’m here. First stop: Sweden! The wonderful Elisa of Isis Wardrobe (I learned on this trip that Isis is a childhood nickname because a young relative struggled to pronounce Elisa, and has nothing to do with the Egyptian goddess in her case) offered to host me in Stockholm. I’ve known Elisa through the historical costuming internet for at least 15 years now – back in the days when the community was based on message boards! We really got to know each other when she helped moderate the Historical Sew Fortnightly FB group for a couple of years. I’ve always …
I went home to Hawai’i to spend the December holidays with my parents. It’s the first time in 14 years I’ve gone back to Hawai’i in December, because I usually try to escape NZ in the Southern Hemisphere winter (June-Sept), not our lovely early summer. But I had an absolutely wonderful trip, and am so glad I went home. Here’s some of the things I got up to: 1. Eating lots of fruit My parents have a tropical fruit farm, and grow pretty much every tropical fruit you’ve ever heard of (except durian), and lots you haven’t. And I gorged on as much of them as you can possibly have every day without bad things happening… 2. Throwing a 9 course Christmas Eve dinner for 11 based on historical recipes I wanted to do something a bit fun and different for my parent’s big holiday celebration (which ended up being Christmas Eve dinner), and a formal, coursed dinner is definitely a novelty in Hawai’i – even more so if it’s historical! I melded historical recipes …
